When Hearts Collide. PG!3 A Future AU Fic

[treker]

Special thanks go out to Nemu for suggesting this story to me and for being my Editor.

As before this story will update once a week on Sundays beginning Sunday March 31st.....Description follows below.

Title: When Hearts Collide
Author: Treker
Pairing: Clana
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own imagination
Rating: PG-13
Description: A future AU fic….Lana and Clark have never meet….Chloe and Clark never became Friends….Pete left with his parents for Wichita before Clark came to earth. As for Lex, only time will tell….

[Nemu]

Oh yeah!!!! THAT will be nice...

Can't wait...:D:D

[treker]

Chapter 1

“Emergence”


For as long as Jor-el could remember, Kryptonian Fathers had trained their progeny in this manner and yet his son was the only one in his collective memory who had ever resisted the training that he would need to fulfill his duties as protector of this world; if it hadn’t been for the untimely demise of his earthbound parents he didn’t think his son would ever have agreed to the training.

But, his training was nearing completion and by his reckoning 12 years had passed and it was now the year 2020 as Earth people measured time; The lights surrounding Kal-el’s cubicle dimmed as he opened his eyes for the first time in over 12 years. He stepped out of his make shift prison, his eyes were unfocused and dazed as he looked around; he had all the look of a man trying to pull his mind out of a long slumber, which he was as his mind had been isolated in an artificial world while his body matured.

But, now that his mind and body had been properly trained, it was time to bring both back together in sync with the rest of the world; it was time for Kal-el of Krypton to assume his rightful position as protector of the innocent and beacon to justice.

“Father?”

“Yes my son?”

“How long has it been?”

“As humans would measure time it has been 12 years since you began your training.”

Kal-el looked to the ceiling of the fortress and closed his eyes; 12 years, it was inconceivable that he had been frozen in his training cubicle for such a long period of time. And for what? Was everything he had endured been worth the lost time? But then, what did time mean to a being such as himself, a being who would outlive everyone he knew and they’re children as well? “It is time I rejoined the world father.”

“Yes, my son; it is, please take this garment and wear it with pride, it will be your symbol for justice.”

Kal-el walked over to the open cubicle to find a suit with a cape hanging before him, it was mostly powder blue with red trunks and boots; it also possessed a symbol on the chest, a shield with the letter S in its center, it was the symbol for the house of EL. Appropriate for a race that took itself too seriously in his opinion. He slipped the suit on and was not surprised to find that it was a perfect fit, although it made him feel slightly ridiculous to wear such an outrageous outfit.

Kal-el was nervous about leaving the security of the fortress; but the time had come to see what all this training really meant to his powers, how he could employ them for the benefit of the people of earth. Bending his knees slightly, he launched himself into the air and found that he could increase his speed merely by concentrating on negating earth’s gravity field around his body and redeploying that field to provide propulsion, this caused Kal-el to achieve speeds that not even a heat seeking missile could achieve making him just a blur as he shot out of the fortress and quickly achieved escape velocity until he was orbiting the planet earth.

As he floated in space, Kal-el used his telescopic vision to look off into space; first at the sun which provided him his unique powers, and next to a comet passing millions and millions of miles from his position orbiting the planet earth. Kal-el had seen such sights in his memories as information was imparted to him from the Jor-el AI, but seeing such a sight and remembering the sight was like night and day, it took his breath away.

Changing his perspective back to the planet that was his charge to protect and serve; tuning his hearing to listen for trouble he came across a news report of a nuclear reactor problem in the suburb of Moscow. Whether a false alarm or a real problem, Kal-el knew that he had to investigate. If the reactor went critical, the loss of life could reach in the millions, not to mention the environmental considerations.

Accelerating to the speed of sound, Kal-el streaked toward Moscow like a missile; the Russian military responded immediately sending out 2 fighter jets to intercept him. He flew by them as if they were standing still and quickly left them behind, soon he was floating over the distressed power plant as news crews took his photo as he floated above the plant. Using his x-ray vision he saw the reactor was going critical, it was minutes away from a full blown melt down; ignoring all other considerations, he crashed thru the titanium steel door and into the reactor room; Kal-el spotted the problem instantly, the cooling system had crashed causing the cooling rods to go critically hot.

Entering a chamber that should have incinerated any normal human being, Kal-el used his super cold breath to lower the temperature down to near freezing; this gave the engineer’s the time they needed in order to shut the reactor down and prevent a nuclear holocaust. Walking out of the reactor core, he was stopped by the scientist in charge; he was speaking Russian which was not a problem for Kal-el since he spoke ever language on the face of the earth (another part of his training). “Who are you, and how in the world did you survive the radiation and temperatures in the core?”

“You may call me Superman, comrade; as for the core, let’s just say I have certain skills that allow me to perform superhuman feats.”

“But, why did you attempt this? What was your purpose?”

“You and everyone in Moscow were in trouble and I knew I could help.”

“But, what do you get out of this comrade?”

Kal-el put his hand on his shoulder with a smile that could melt ice. “Only the satisfaction of knowing I helped out someone in need.”

Turning without another word, he flew out of the plant as quickly as he could before the military could send in the troops to detain him for questioning and possible experimentation. Not that he would have allowed it, but he didn’t want to have to hurt anyone just to ensure that he could leave the area.

The news crew on location had a live camera feed which had been picked up around the world, and Superman was quickly becoming the main topic of conversation to anyone within ear shout of a TV screen; this was what Kal-el was expecting and what he was counting on. In order to become the symbol for justice that he needed to become it was necessary to announce his presence to the world; and what better way to announce your presence than on live TV, he just hoped that no one assumed he worked for the Russian Government, he had to stay neutral in order to insure that all the people of earth saw him as he intended, as a shinning beacon toward justice and peace.

He just wished that his heart felt as full as his sense of justice, even though it had been 12 years since the deaths of Martha and Jonathan Kent, their loss was still creating a large hole in his heart. And he had never had anyone he could call a girl friend, such was the sacrifice he had been forced to make in order to conceal who and what he was. Just for once, he would give anything if he could find that one person to call his own; someone who could accept his life and still love him……


Lana Lang was on an international jet on final approach to Metropolis, Kansas; she had not been back to this part of the world almost 25 years now; her parents had moved to New York when she was a toddler and after graduation she had moved to Paris for her education in the arts.

She loved Paris, but the French men there could be very trying on a girl’s soul; she knew they only wanted one thing, that’s all any man really wanted and she had yet to meet a man whom she could think of in that fashion. Not that she didn’t want that, as time passed by she was becoming more and more aware of the empty place in her heart, the place where the love of her life should be; but she had spend most of her adult life getting her career off the ground, and that was what had brought her back to Metropolis. She was hosting her own one woman show at the art gallery; both sculpture and painting, it was rare for someone to excel at one of those two art forms but to become a master at both was almost unheard of.

As she exited the jet and walked down the ramp, she noticed a loud commotion coming from the tarmac of the airport; she thought it was probably just an upset traveler until she came upon a crowd surrounding one of the TV monitors.

She thought she was looking at a movie because what she was witnessing was impossible for a normal human being to be able to accomplish, but why would so many people be so intently interested in a movie in a busy international airport? She was about to take her thought further when a close up of the man in question appeared on the screen and all conscious thought left her brain and went straight to her lower extremities between her legs. She couldn’t believe she was having such a strong reaction to something as simple as a man’s picture on a TV monitor.

Suddenly, the empty spot in her heart was speaking to her like a freight train; a spot aching to be filled by the vision of the man on the TV screen. That was when she mentally slapped herself in order to stop this childish fantasy, it was just a man on a TV screen for crying out loud; he wasn’t some Greek god to be fawned over, wasn’t he?

But, as she watched the report she saw that it was indeed a live news report from Moscow; and he was indeed defying the law of gravity and flying through the air at impossible speeds. What else could this god do and what were his intentions? Was he here to help or to harm? Was he a messiah or the devil incarnate? All very valid questions, questions the news reporters weren’t asking; questions that concerned her that weren’t being asked by those in a position to ask.

Gathering her luggage she let the gawkers have their fill of the man’s form, and as delicious as that form was she was more intent on what his motivations were; and were was he from? Was he even from this world? Lana found it hard to believe that he could be, no one in the history of mankind had ever been able to do what this man could obviously do; and that opened up a question she had struggled with all her life, were they alone in the universe or was there life on other planets? She thought that question at just been answered by a flying blue streak of a man in the sky’s above Moscow.

Lana took a cab and had the driver take her too the Luthor Grand hotel in downtown Metropolis; she checked into the Penthouse as a woman of means should do in a new city about to make a big splash in the art community. She didn’t like to flaunt her wealth about, but image was everything in the world of art and if she was to be taken seriously she needed to look the part.

The last thing she did after unpacking was to take a shower and dress for bed; it was still early afternoon but she had jet lag and needed to get a good day’s rest before taking on the art exhibit tomorrow, as she drifted off to sleep and started to dream, a dream of a man in blue tights and a red cape.

[Nemu]

Well... erm... I had kinda forgot parts of this update lol...

Man of course the Kent's death would still be leaving a hole in his heart... he didn't have time to mourn...

Well... Love at first sight for Lana it seems...

See ya next Sunday!

[SVsleuth]

Yay! You started the new fic!

Sad that the Kents both died. Poor Clark was left all alone, except for Jor-El. No Chloe, Pete, or Lana in his past. I guess the only thing left for him to do was become the superhero - which he's done. Yet, his loneliness remains, from the loss of the only people who ever loved him.

Lana's reaction to her first glimpse of Superman was quite strong. Were all the women reacting that way? Or just Lana? She has a lot of questions, but already her assumptions have put her on the right track. If she reacted that way to a glimpse of him on the TV, I can't wait to see what happens when they finally meet for real. Will he save her from some accident? PPMS! (oh, I know, I have to wait until next Sunday. Darn!)

[The Black Cat]

Superinteresting so far. PPMS!

[shortcircuit85]

Intresting start. Can't wait for more.

Thanks,

[treker]

Chapter 2

“First Meeting”


Kal-el once again assumed orbit over the planet, his hearing allowed him to follow the reports of his rescue of the nuclear facility in Moscow; however, he was dismayed to listen to how the female reporters were portraying how hot he looked. That was the last thing that he wanted, he wanted the people of earth to pay attention to his actions, not how hot he looked.

It had been 48 hours since the incident in Russia and the fury over his appearance had only increased in the news media; everyone continued to speculate as to not only who and what he was but where he was from. He was pleasantly surprised and rather cautious about how quickly the scientific community had been able to make the connection to the fact that he hadn’t originated on Earth.

This was tempered with his concern over the people of Earth finding too much about his origins and any possible weakness’ he might have; which was a situation that he needed to guard with his very life, because his life as he knew it may very well depend on that secrecy. However, he also knew that he would have to prepare for the day when his enemies would find out about his weakness, it was inevitable, such was the way of things.

Kal-el was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of an air traffic controller proclaiming an emergency for an incoming jet over the state of Kansas in the US. Without even having to consider the consequences he launched himself out of his orbit and shot for the skies over Kansas; once there he saw a private leer jet with a smoking engine that was causing the aircraft to plummet out of control toward the planet below. Reacting with the speed of thought he propelled himself toward the wing with the smoking engine, using his breath he extinguished the flames and positioned himself under the wing taking the place of the engine, being careful not to stress the wing more than was necessary less he break the wing loss from the plane.

Inside the plane the pilots looked out their window in disbelieve, there was a man in blue tights and a red cape helping to support their stricken air craft. They had some semblance of control back and were in the process of continuing their emergency descent, calling back to the passenger compartment they let their employer know that everything would be okay. “Mr. Luthor, we’ve regained partial control thanks to our friend outside and should be landing shortly.”

Lex looked out the window of his Jet and saw what his pilot’s were talking about; he blinked several times not believing what his eyes were telling him; yet the proof was there for all to see, a man was helping to hold his jet in the air and guide it down to a safe landing. Lex started to smile as he dreamed of what he could do with such a man; if he could find a way to control him he knew he could soon conquer the entire world.

Lex was instructed to buckle up by his pilot as they were on final approach to the Airport, but Lex found that he could not take his eyes off the man in blue. Once they had finally touched down and come to a stop, Lex jumped from his seat and had the door open and the ladder retracted as he dashed out of the plane. He found his savior standing under the wing and approached him quickly. “Thank you for saving us, may I ask your name?”

“Your welcome and you may address me as Superman.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I never lie, sir.”

Lex smiled as Superman said he never lied, that would be a problem for Lex if he could get this awesome specimen of a man to work for him but it wasn’t an insurmountable obstacle. “I could really use a man of your skills on my payroll, just name your price and it’s yours.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I have neither interest in wealth nor any desire to work for someone; I only want to help people.”

No interest in wealth? What was this a guy, a freak of nature or something? So, he couldn’t persuade him with money, so what is it that he could use as leverage in order to convince this man that it was in his best interest to work for him? “Surely there is something you need, something you want that I could get for you?”

“I want for nothing except for my desire to help those in need, Sir.”

“Call me Lex, Lex Luthor is my name.”

“Very well, Lex; I’m just glad you and your pilots are okay, now I must be going.”

Before Lex could say another word, Superman lifted into the sky and was gone in a heartbeat; Lex was angry that he couldn’t turn Superman to his cause. He had never met a man that didn’t want something that he could provide, that was their weakness and his strength. “I will find your weakness, Superman; and you will be my servant whether you want to or not.”


Lana was in the art gallery arranging her paintings around her latest sculpture that was the center piece of her show; she wasn’t completely satisfied with how everything was coming together and she was running out of time; the show was in 3 days and she knew she wasn’t anywhere near ready.

And it didn’t help that her attention kept wandering back to her dreams from the previous night; she couldn’t shake the vivid nature of the dream, of her lip locked with the mysterious man in blue and that disturbed her greatly. That she could have such strong feelings for a man she had never met or talked too before scared her.

“Ms. Lang?”

Lana turned and saw the Gallery Director approaching her, she frowned in annoyance; he cared nothing for the quality of her Art, just that she quickly put the show together so he could move onto the next artist in line for his next opening. “Yes, Director Fitzpatrick?”

“Are you finished yet?”

“No I’m not even close yet.”

The look on the director’s face told Lana volumes about what he thought of her quality control; she was just happy that he was financially obligated to let her do as she pleased otherwise she and her art would have been thrown out on the street after the first day. “Don’t worry Director; I’ll be ready for the opening.”

“You’d better be.”

With that he stormed off leaving Lana with a bad taste in her mouth; maybe his bad attitude could be attributed to the pass he made at her on their first meeting and how she told him that if he tried to grab her butt again he would draw back a bloody stump were his hand used to be; men could be such pigs sometimes.

Thinking of men and pigs lead Lana back to her dreams and the blue clad man she dreamed of; Was he just like all the men she had ever had the misfortune to meet? Or was he like her father, a man of style and class and most importantly, a man of respect. Respect for women, respect for children and even respect for his enemies. That was the type of man she wanted to marry, a man like her father; which she knew was why she was still single, because all other men paled in comparison to her father.

Lana’s stomach growled and she realized how late it was getting and the fact that she hadn’t eaten at all today; leaving the gallery she took a leisurely stroll through the park on her way too a café by the Lake, it had become her favorite place to eat as it reminded her of Paris with it’s tables on the sidewalk; pigeons flock everywhere and it brought a sense of peace to an otherwise stressful day.

Just then she looked up at the sky from her table and blinked several times, there was a speck moving across the sky; a speck moving at a speed which had to be impossible and she wondered could it be him? Had he just performed another miracle or had he caused a disaster? What was his story and would she ever find out what he was about?

Up in the sky above Lana Lang, Superman was moving faster than he had before just because he wanted to get as far away from the airport as he could; he couldn’t put it into words but Lex Luthor had unnerved him to the core of his being; he seemed harmless enough, but his instincts told him to get away from the man as he was a threat of some sort, and the way he kept pressing him to come work for him was only reaffirming his gut instinct about the man and his motivations.

Looking over the city as he flew over Metropolis he used his telescopic vision to look for trouble, everything seemed calm; he was about to change his focus to leave the city sky’s until he came across a small café on the lake, something made him stop and hover in the air; he couldn’t believe his eyes, there sitting at a table by the lake had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, his heart began pounding in his chest as his blood pressure rose; and the strange part is she was looking up at him in the sky, could she see him? Had she seen the reports of his rescue in Moscow and what did she think of him?

What would she think if he just flew down and introduced himself? She’d probably run away screaming is what she’d do, maybe what Jor-el said in his training was true; that he was destined to walk alone, that it was essential he walk alone in order to not show any weakness to his enemies. He fought an inner battle within himself and for now, Jor-el won. Besides, swooping down and introducing himself to her this way was not the way to make friends, he needed to get to know her before she meet his real self; suddenly a light bulb went off in his head and he realized how he could get to know the woman without the woman getting to know him to quickly.

Several hundred feet on the ground, Lana was disappointed to see him streak away after hovering over the sky for several seconds. Oh come on Lana, get a hold of yourself; what did you think he was going to do? Fly down and land just to introduce himself to you? It’s was a nice fantasy, but she knew that’s all it was but a fantasy; and fantasy’s were for children, not grown adults. Finishing her meal Lana walked back to the gallery to finish what was to be the launch of her career, not engage in school girl fantasies.


The next day a man in a blue suit and glasses sat at the café by the lake casually drinking a latte as he sat and hoped that a certain brunette would come back to the same place he had seen her at yesterday. He knew it was a long shot, but it was the only clue he had in finding her; and his patience was about to pay off as he saw in the distance the object of his desire emerging from the tree’s in the park heading his way with a far off look on her face.

Could she be thinking about him? Did she really see him floating in the sky above the park yesterday? She was about to pass him by when he summoned the courage to speak to her. “Excuse me, Miss?”

“Yes.”

“My names Clark Kent, and I’m new to the city and hate to eat alone; and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of having lunch with me?”

Lana just looked at the man, impeccably dressed with black rimmed glasses, a hat and blue business suit; normally, she would have passed on the invitation from a complete stranger but there was something in his eyes, something about his demeanor that put her at ease. “Yes, I would like that very much; my name is Lana Lang.”

As Clark stood he pulled out a seat for her allowing her to sit before seating down again himself; he looked at Lana in her Lavender summer dress and all conscious thought left his mind, Lana saw the far away look on his face and was about to get up and leave when Clark recovered his senses. “I beg your pardon, Lana; I didn’t mean to stair, but it’s just that I’ve never seen a woman as lovely as you and for a second I didn’t know what to say to you.”

Lana was about to chalk it up to being a pickup line until she looked into his blue green eyes and saw no deception there, he really meant what he was saying and she found it to be a refreshing change from all the other guys she’d meet in her life. “You’re forgiven, Clark; but why did you invite me to lunch like that?”

“I’m new in town and meeting and making friends has never been easy for me, but there was just something about you that gave me the courage to want to get to know you.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Clark; so, tell me about yourself.”

Inwardly, Clark smiled as he had taken the first step to getting to know the only woman who has ever caught his eye on just a casual glance; the only question was what was he going to say to her and would she like what he was about to tell her?

[Nemu]

Well time to meet the girl and see what can come of it...

What else to say... hmmm... i'll be waiting for the next chapter ;)

[SVsleuth]

Darn. My post just somehow got wiped out. Let me try to remember...

Well, Clark & Lana certainly seem to have quite an unusal attraction to each other - even from a distance. I'm glad Clark worked up the courage to ask her to have lunch with him.

As for Lex, I hate him already. He's up to no good, as always. Too bad Supes didn't just let his plane crash. ;)

Can't wait for Clark & Lana to get to know each other better. I wonder how long it will take for her to dream of him instead of Superman. I wonder how long it will take for him to let her in on his secret identity.

Thanks for the update. PPMS!

[shlyish]

Sad about the Kents and that Clark had been alone after that leaving him no other choice but to do his training.
Wow 12 years huh?! Long long time.

I knew it was Lex's jet that was in trouble. I just knew it...
Already wants to find Clarks weakness and use him...Clark already gave it away, by saying all he wants to do is protect people...

Heehee Lana haveing wet dreams and fantasies of Clark on first sight.
And of course Clark spots her from thousands of feet up in the air and locks eyes with her...thats truely some Clana lovin and connectin going on.

I like Clark's boldness and forwardness in wanting to know her.
Confident Clark is very sexy and attractive.

Looking forward to more.

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----

I Like this alot so far, aside from the Lex part.;)

[The Black Cat]

Great update! I like it a lot too. PPMS!

[kentfamily]

Nice beginning. The meeting and Superman's boldness. Cant wait for your update.

[treker]

Chapter 3

“Lunch Date”


Clark knew he had to play it cool; he was trying to feel his way through the conversation with Lana without looking like a total idiot, which was a real possibility if he stared to intently into those beautiful brown eyes of hers. “Well, at the moment I’m unemployed.”

“Unemployed? And you’re inviting me to lunch?”

“It doesn’t mean I’m destitute, Lana; it just means I’m looking for work and I do have an interview this afternoon that I hope will start me on my way.”

Lana exhaled a breath of relief, not that she’d ever tell Clark that; but she did feel more at ease to hear that he had plans and wasn’t just letting life pass him by. “Oh, are you going somewhere?”

The smirk on Lana’s face told Clark that she was joking; he raised his eyebrows in the same mischievous way that she was smirking at him, letting her know that he wasn’t taking her comments to seriously. “I don’t know, do you want me to go somewhere?”

“You know we could keep this up for hours but I suspect you don’t have that type of time today and neither do I.”

“Very true, Lana; however, if I may be so bold, I am enjoying our conversation even if it is about nothing in particular.”

“Do you often start up conversations with perfect strangers while talking about nothing?”

“No, not really; but I’m willing to learn.”

The waiter stopped by their table to take their order, which was fortunate otherwise they could very well have continued this conversation about nothing all afternoon; Lana order a light salad and Iced tea while Clark opted for a double roast beef on rye with French fries and a 32 oz coke, and for desert he ordered a Hugh slice of key lime pie, Lana look at his food in awe. “How do you stay in shape while eating all that?”

“I have a very high metabolism, and thank you for noticing I’m in good shape.”

Lana looked at Clark with a grin on her lips, and slightly envious of a man who could eat whatever he wanted and stay in great shape; she wished she could do that, but she had to count every calorie otherwise she knew she’d blow up to be a big blimp and then no one would want her. “So, what is this big interview you have planned?”

“I’m looking to become a reporter at the Daily Planet.”

“Why do you want to be a reporter?”

Clark sat back and looked at Lana with a new fond respect; most women would have talked about what a great opportunity it was, but not Lana; she wanted to know why he wanted to become a reporter and not what a great job it could be; in other words she wanted to know about him. “Because I think I can make a difference in people’s lives by exposing the evil in this world; good people should not have to suffer just because criminals hide in the shadows.”

“So, you want to shine the light of justice on these people?”

“I know it sounds silly, but I think it’s my calling; and after everything I saw by the flying man in blue; it makes me believe that one man can make a difference.”

Clark watched carefully for a reaction from Lana once he had mentioned his alter ego; Lana’s faced appeared flushed as Clark could see a blush come to her face and he realized that she had indeed been watching him yesterday and it seemed that she was attracted to him; but why did that make him uneasy? Could it be because he thought that she wanted the flying super hero and the persona he was giving her now was not so worldly? Could Lana care for the normal man as much as she cared for the Hero she had never even talked to yet? “That’s very noble of you, Clark; if only I had the courage to set my life on a similar course.”

“What type of work do you do, Lana?”

“I’m an artist and a sculptor; I have a one woman show opening this weekend at the art gallery, provided I ever get everything the way I want it set up.”

“I look forward to seeing your work.”

Lana smiled at Clark, but in her heart she was conflicted; she was determined to meet Superman but here she was sitting having a lovely lunch with a perfect stranger, what was wrong with her? Lana couldn’t help but wonder what was the matter with her? She didn’t fall for perfect strangers like this; and yet here it was, she was having feelings for one man she had never even talked to and for another that she had only just become acquainted with. “Well, as nice as this is, Clark; I do have to get back to the gallery. Maybe I’ll see you there during the opening?”

“Oh, I think there’s a very strong possibility that I’ll be there.”

Clark smiled in a way that made Lana’s heart melt; she had never seen a guy smile at her like that before, it wasn’t an overtly sexual smile but a it conveyed warmth and safety as well as friendship. And she knew that she just had to see this man again.


The daily planet was a Landmark in Metropolis, with a gold spinning globe on top of the building; it was the most respected paper in the country if not the world and they didn’t hire just anybody to work there and yet here was Clark Kent walking in the front door expecting be hired on the same day, he knew it was ridiculous but wasn’t it also ridiculous that he could fly through the air and bench press the building without breaking a sweat?

As he looked around the entry of the paper, he was struck by the fact that the Planet was a mixture of two worlds; it was the perfect blending of old world news reporting with the modern hustle of an internet age newspaper. Computers lined every desk and yet the building had the feel of the old world; Clark thought that was what made this newspaper the success that it was, that it didn’t ignore the past while embracing the future.

Clark introduced himself to the pretty blonde behind the reception desk, a woman by the name of Alexis; Clark could tell right away that Alexis was putting on an act, she played the part of a dumb blonde while underneath she was very intelligent. Their brief conversation had told him all he needed to know, she needed a way into a better career but didn’t think she could get there on her talent so she resorted to her beauty and acting dumb in hopes of hearing something that she could use to further her ambitions.

Clark shook his head as he rode up the elevator in silence; how would he survive in a society that constantly practiced deception as a way to achieve ones goals? It was not the Kryptonian way, deception for the purpose of personal advancement was unheard of on Krypton; sure there were the occasional white lies told, but not for personal gain; he was fortunate that he had been raised by a human couple who also practiced the Kryptonian trait of honesty and integrity.

Once he reached the top floor of the newspaper, Clark exited the elevator and made his way to the office of the editor and chief of the paper, Perry White; on his way to Perry’s office, Clark noticed a cute blonde girl with very short cropping hair and more energy than 10 people as she banged on her keyboard at whatever story she was currently working on. She noticed Clark right away, and her fingers stopped in midstroke as Clark walked by, the thing that impressed her most (beyond the fact that he looked like a Greek god) was his smile, a smile that melted her heart into a puddle of goo.

Clark didn’t stop to talk to the lady in question as he had a job interview to get to and didn’t want to be late; introductions could come later provided he got the job. Clark knocked on Perry’s glass door, he was a crusty looking man in his late 50’s and with an attitude to match; he waved Clark into his office with an irritation that said he better not waste his time. “Well, son; what are you waiting for? Get in here and let’s get this over with.”

“Hello, Mr. White; I’m Clark Kent.”

“Kent, what do you take me for? Some senile old fart? I know what your name is, it’s on your resume’ for crying out loud.”

Clark was taken off guard by Perry’s bluntness; but, in contrast to the deception he found in the receptionist he found Perry’s directness a breath of fresh air. “Well, I don’t think you’re senile but as for the rest of it I can’t say since I’ve just met you.”

Perry was also taken off guard by Clark Kent’s ability to take what he was dishing out and come back with a joke; that took a lot of courage in his book, especially from an applicant looking for a job. “So, you think I’m an old fart?”

“I don’t know, Mr. White; are you?”

Perry sat there for a full 30 seconds without saying a word as Clark sat across the desk from him and just stared him down; then Perry did the one thing that Clark didn’t expect him too, he burst out laughing; this was like music to Clark’s ears as he had broken the ice with the man who had his employment future in his hands.

Clark handed Perry some sample articles that he had prepared for him to look over; he just sat there as Perry read what he had given him and tolerated the grunts and exhales as Perry went over his work; Clark didn’t know which direction Perry was to bounce next; finally he looked up at Clark and took his glasses off.

“You show promise, Kent; but I’m not prepared to offer you the job just yet; anyone can write about crime, son; a real reporter can take a dull story and turn it into something amazing. That’s what I want to see you do, so I’m assigning you to cover the art gallery this weekend; there’s a new artist doing a one woman show and I’d like to see what you can do with that.”

Clark’s face remained neutral, but on the inside he was grinning ear to ear since this would give him the perfect opportunity to go see Lana again; and also he would get to interview her as well, what good fortune. “Don’t worry, Mr. White; I won’t let you down.”

“You better not if you want to be a reporter in this town, now get out of my office.”

Clark rose from his seat and walked out of Perry’s office, he bumped into the same short blonde woman he saw earlier; she stopped just short of crashing into him and had to crane her neck upward to look into his blue green eyes; up and up and up she looked, he dwarfed her by a good 13 inches and looked as if he could crush her with a single swat of his hand. “Oh, uh hi.”

“Hello to you also, my name is Clark; and you are?”

“SULLIVAN….GET IN HERE!”

“I guess Attila the Hun needs me; oh, and as you heard, my name is Sullivan; as in Chloe Sullivan, nice to meet you Clark.”

Clark walked down the hall with a smile on his face, Chloe seemed like someone whom he could be friends with; he didn’t sense any deceptions on her part and she come across and real and completely friendly, qualities that Clark found in all too short supply these days.

As Clark walked out of the elevator on the main floor he saw Alexis waving him over to her; out of courtesy he approached her desk as she slipped him her address and phone number; Clark passed it back with a polite no thank you; real and honest are not qualities that he attributed to Alexis, and those were the only qualities he was interested in a woman he planned to date.

Not knowing what else to do with his time until the weekend, Clark find a side alley and quickly changed into Superman and rose up into the sky to patrol the city looking for trouble; as he flew past the window of Perry’s office, both Perry and Chloe rushed to the window to watch him fly by.

“Great Caesar’s ghost; he really can fly, Sullivan, if you can get an exclusive interview with that man you’ll win that Pulitzer you’ve always been chasing and I’ll double your salary.”

Chloe only heard two parts of Perry’s offer….Pulitzer….and double your salary; both of which sounded like heaven to Chloe; and also, the chance to actually talk to the man who was creating such a buzz in the news industry was just too compelling to pass up.


Lana was just leaving the art gallery after a hard day of setting up; she almost felt ready for the opening on Friday; which was good since it was only a few days off; and now that her mind wasn’t thinking of her art she drifted back to the lunch she had with Clark, she just couldn’t place what it was about the man but he put her at ease like no other man ever has.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion coming from just down the street; as she looked in that direction she saw many pedestrians and vehicles had come to a stop and were pointing up in the air; there was only one man that could possible produce that type of reaction.

Looking up into the sky she was rewarded with the sight of Superman; except he wasn’t flying by as he had before, he was hovering 10 stories up off the ground and he was looking right at her; Lana took the chance and waved to him mouthing the word “hi” to him as she did; to her shock he waved back and returned the gesture. And then he smiled; a smile that turned her insides upside down and inside out before he flew away to whatever emergency required his attention.

Then it occurred to her that was the second time today that she had been smiled like that in almost the same way by two different men; now what was the possibility that two completely different men could have the exact same smile she thought to herself?

[Nemu]

first clue to Lana with the smile... lol you know Brian... with the comment I sent you last night... she needs to see more parallel between Clark and Supes... lol

Well a lunch date is a good start...

And here enters the sad little puppy (Chloe)... Thats the only way I can see her... (oh and yeah that was said with sarcasm...)

Soo... see ya next Sunday...

[SVsleuth]

Well, it took me all day to finally get here, but I didn't forget, Brian.

So, Lana is just beginning to gather clues about Superman & Clark. I wonder how many she'll need before she figures out the truth - or if he'll tell her before that.

PPMS!

[NYC300Z]

just started reading and it's been pretty good so far. I'll catch up some more in a bit

[treker]

just started reading and it's been pretty good so far. I'll catch up some more in a bit


Welcome Matt....I'm Glad you found my new fic....I know I've gotten rather lazy with Season 2....well this story is why....I've just started writing chapter 13...so no worries....regular sunday updates will continue... :)

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----


Well, it took me all day to finally get here, but I didn't forget, Brian.

PPMS!

I never doubted it for a sec steph....and I always appreciate everything you have to say. Thanks for reading.

[NYC300Z]

ok cool i'm all caught up! everything seems to be moving so fast can't wait for sunday's update!

[The Black Cat]

Great update! PPMS!

[treker]

Chapter 4

"Art Gallery"

When he wasn’t making his presence felt as Superman, Clark spent his time preparing for Lana’s art show; he was determined to make an impression on Perry in order to secure his position at the Planet. And on a personal note, it meant that he would get some more quality time with the elusive Lana Lang, Clark was having a hard time thinking of anything but Lana since their lunch date.

In order to prepare for the show, Clark reasoned that it was appropriate to come up with a complete background on the artist in question; after looking up what information there was on the web about Lana; Clark took to the air and flew to Paris, once there he visited the school where Lana studied.

Walking the halls of the school, Clark was struck by the architecture of the building; it was like stepping into the past and losing oneself in the culture of the 1800’s; Clark was so engrossed in his surroundings that he failed to notice the commotion he was making with the young ladies. A group of several girls were following Clark all around the school, much to the irritation of the males who had been trying to get their attention; Clark finally noticed what was going on and turned to see what was happening. “Is there some problem?”

“Not as long as you tell us that you’ll come to our dorm for a party.”

The girls were speaking French, which wasn’t a problem for Clark as part of his training had included all the languages of earth; but, what was a problem was the suggestion the girl was making and the way her hand trailed down her neck to play with the buttons over her ample chest. “I’m sorry, miss; but I’m here to interview some of your professor’s and to honest I’m old enough to be your father.”’

“Yes, well I’ve always had a daddy complex; are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

“I’m sure, but thank you for the offer; I’m flattered.”

Turning without any further comment, Clark continued to the office of Professor Le Fluer’s office; he knocked on the door and was granted entry, once seated he began his interview. “So, tell me about Lana Lang the artist?”

“Well, what can I say sir; she is a very talented young lady, yet she’s also very critical of herself; she never would accept anything but perfection from whatever she did even if the rest of us were in awe of her work.”

“Is it true that she mastered the art of painter as well as sculptor?”

“Yes, very astonishing for someone so young; I would often tell her to go out, have fun but she would hear nothing of it; she only wanted to concentrate on her craft.”

“That sounds very lonely.”

“Most of the genius artists of our time are often loners, sir.”

“Genius? High praise for someone just at the beginning of her career.”

“She does not need praise, all you have to do to see her genius is look at her work; and unless you are a complete barbarian, you will see the proof of her talent.”

Clark thanked the professor and continued on to talking to everyone else who had taught her at the school; Clark was fortunate that Professor Le Fluer had provided him with all her teachers so that he could make a complete background of the lady in question; it seemed the good Professor was intent on doing whatever he could to help his former pupil.

The one thing that kept intruding on Clark’s thoughts was what Professor Le Fluer said about Lana being a solitary soul and how she always seemed to be by herself; a trait he could identify with; After leaving the school Clark did a little site seeing which ended with him on top of the Eiffel Tower, from that vantage point he changed into Superman and took to the sky before heading back to Metropolis.


It was the night of the art show and Lana was on pins and needles; her entire future depended on a favorable review, not to mention selling her art to as much of the upper crust of Metropolis Society as she could; and the fact that the pig of an art director wouldn’t leave her alone wasn’t helping matters either.

For the opening Lana had chosen to wear a non-threatening business suit with silk lavender blouse and a scarf; her hair was swept behind her ears and laying loose across her shoulders, she opted for very little makeup to allow for her natural beauty to come to the forefront as well as to not try to impress by overdressing and keep the attention on her art.

The turnout was better than she could have hoped for; the security actually had to hold people outside until people left because it would have been a fire hazard to let them all in. Lana was in the process of speaking with several art critics when she noticed Clark walk in the front door, her heart skipped a beat as she show him and how he was dressed; Clark was wearing a tux that looked like it was spray painted on his body, a fact that did nothing to hide his chiseled physique.

He was taking his time too study each piece of art, what Lana didn’t know was that he was using his vision to examine the art on a level that the average human being couldn’t possible even attempt, and he came away from each piece with Professor Le Fluer’s comments echoing in his head; Lana was a genius even if he wasn’t an expert on art it was the only conclusion he could come up with.

“Hi, Clark; I’m glad you could make it tonight.”

Clark was slightly startled since he didn’t notice Lana approach him from behind; he was so engrossed in her artwork that he dropped his notepad, Lana bend down and picked it up for him as she noticed the notes about her artwork.

“Why are you making notes on my art?”

“That interview I told you about at the Planet, well you’re my first assignment; and depending on how well I do will depend on whether I get the job or not.”

“Oh, so you’re professional life is literally in my hands?”

Lana had a mischievous look in her eye which caused Clark to start laughing. “Yeah, so unless you want to support me for the rest of my life you’d better be good to me.”

They both stood in silence for a few minutes as they looked at Lana’s paintings; after a few minutes they moved on to the sculpture in the center of the gallery. “I flew to Paris to talk to Professor La Fluer and some of your other instructors.”

Lana stopped dead in her tracks; she turned and faced Clark with her jaw hanging open and the shock in her eyes turned to one of anger. “Mr. Kent, what gives you the right to investigate my past like that? I feel violated.”

Clark was taken slightly back by the venom in Lana’s voice; this was the last reaction he had expected from her, she had always seemed so sweet but then what La Fluer said about her being a private person came back to him and he understood. “Lana, you an artist who creates works of art for the world to see, hasn’t it ever occurred to you that the people who admire your work would want to know more about you and not just your art? Professor La Fluer understands and was very supportive of both the article and you personally.”

Lana just stood there tapping her shoe with her arms crossed, Clark could see the volcanic eruption just waiting to explode behind her eyes; finally, after several minutes the fire cooled as Lana closed her eyes and let loose with the breath she had been holding; when she opened her eyes again she had a much calmer demeanor in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Clark; of course, you were just doing your job; but you see I once was a victim of a stalker and ever since I guard my privacy as if my life depended upon it.”

“I understand, I myself am a very private person as well; so I do understand where you’re coming from, and the only thing I can tell you is to trust that I won’t exploit you. I know that’s asking a lot about a guy you’ve known for less than a week, but it’s all I have to offer.”

Lana looked up into Clark’s eyes; he seemed sincere, but then she had thought the same of Jon Paul as well and he had shattered her trust in men and she just didn’t know if she could give that level of trust again so soon. But, there was just something about Clark that made her want to try. “I’ll have to think about that, Clark; but you are writing the article and I guess I’ll see if you deserve my trust soon enough.”

“Excuse me, but may I interrupt this conversation for just a minute?”

Both Lana and Clark turned and while Lana didn’t know the man addressing them, Clark had seen him at the airport when he had rescued his plan in the disguise of Superman.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Lex Luthor; and I’ve been very anxious to meet such a beautiful woman who can create such beautiful works of art.”

Lex reached out to Lana, taking her hand in his as he brought the back of her hand to his lips to kiss it in greeting; Lana pulled her hand from Lex’s grasp as she brought it to her neck, Clark noticed that Lana was blushing and came to the realization that he didn’t like the fact that another man was causing such a reaction in her. “Excuse me, Mr. Luthor; but Miss Lang and I were having an interview.”

“Interview? And who would you be?”

“Clark Kent, from the Daily Planet.”

“A reporter, how quaint; but, you see I think Miss Lang will want to talk to me more since I’ve just purchased her entire collection.”

Clark didn’t know what to say to that and Lana was astonished; this one man had just secured her immediate future and insured her place as a legitimate artist. “Mr. Luthor, I’m astonished; I don’t know what to say except thank you.”

“Please, my dear; call me Lex.”

Lex cupped his arm in Lana’s and guided her away from an astonished Clark Kent who could only look on in shock and disgust; he knew he had a bad feeling about Lex Luthor after he tried to buy Superman to work for him, and now after seeing the way he was trying to buy Lana just made that feeling even stronger.

However, Clark didn’t want to make a scene; especially on Lana’s big night; and Clark thought, what right did he have to tell this lady what she could and couldn’t do? He’d only known her for less than a week; maybe she liked the attention of a man like Luthor? All he knew was that he needed to finish this article and get the job at the Planet; and then he’d worry about what to do about this lady who haunted his thoughts….and his dreams.

[SVsleuth]

Brian! Don't DO that to us! NO LEXANA - PLEASE!

I hope Lana sees Lex for the snake he is VERY quickly.

Now, the part where Lana's heart skipped a beat when she saw Clark walk in, in a tux that seemed spray painted to his body - now THAT's more like it.

Thanks for the update. PPMS!

[Nemu]

Brian! Don't DO that to us! NO LEXANA - PLEASE!

I hope Lana sees Lex for the snake he is VERY quickly.

Now, the part where Lana's heart skipped a beat when she saw Clark walk in, in a tux that seemed spray painted to his body - now THAT's more like it.

Thanks for the update. PPMS!


well thats almost as strong a reaction as mine...

Lex is a snake..


Hmmm... what else did I say about this chapter...

well Clark was sneaky to go and do a background check on Lana...

Well... till next sunday or once you are done with the next chapter ;)

[NYC300Z]

Yes I too for one am not looking forward to any possible mention of Lexana.....Clark well maybe he should have kept that to himself, but still I almost see that as an over reaction on Lana's part...he was kinda just doing his job albiet a bit throughly.

PPMS!

[treker]

No worries...no Lexanna (at least on Lana's part) in this story; besides, it would ruin my laptop if I had to vomit all over it (which is what would happen if I wrote Lexanna). ;)

[Nemu]

No worries...no Lexanna (at least on Lana's part) in this story; besides, it would ruin my laptop if I had to vomit all over it (which is what would happen if I wrote Lexanna). ;)

that would make 2 laptops... and i wouldn't have my name associated with the fic if there was full lexana (both side and not a one way obsession from the bald b**tard)

[The Black Cat]

Very good chapter. I loved it. PPMS!

[kentfamily]

Please update. I hate that Lex always the third leg. In the way as usual. :\:\:\

[treker]

Please update. I hate that Lex always the third leg. In the way as usual. :\:\:\

I know...boy, you're really going to hate what I have planned in a few chapters......

<don't you love the way I tease you all?????> ;)

Update coming tomorrow morning.....

[Nemu]

oh man... I ask only one thing... please dont make me puke... I only have my laptop right now ;)

well... at least in the next 10 chapters there will be good stuff to balance the bad stuff...

[treker]

oh man... I ask only one thing... please dont make me puke... I only have my laptop right now ;)

well... at least in the next 10 chapters there will be good stuff to balance the bad stuff...


No puking....I swear on my honor as a devoted clana writer. But, what's life without a little drama??? It can't all be sugar and spice....we need a little meat with our desert (if you know what I mean)....

[treker]

Chapter 5

“The Article”

After leaving the art gallery, Clark went to the new apartment he had rented earlier in the day; he knew that it was fortunate that he had taken the money he had inherited from his adopted parents and invested it while he trained with Jor-el. It had grown to a sizeable amount of money, not in Lex Luthor’s Class; but he could afford a nice place with comfortable furniture and more importantly, a private rooftop balcony that only he had access too; that was important to him in order to have a place to come and go as Superman.

As Clark approached the door to his apartment he reached up to the security keypad to enter his pass code; his had the only door in the building that had an impenetrable door installed, there were one foot steel rods that extended from the door to the walls in all directions when the alarm was activated. He felt this level of security was necessary in his line of work, and he was fairly certain that no one would ever guess his password; Clark input the word ‘Kal El’ into the pad and then security system deactivated to allow him access to his new home.

Once inside, Clark went to his spacious bedroom and undressed from his rented tuxedo and dressed in some blue boxer shorts and a tight fitting red t-shirt; once he felt comfortable again he went to the living area and turned on his laptop (another new purchase for his new life); Clark reasoned that if he didn’t knock this article out of the ball park that his personal life would take a serious downward turn financially since he had prepaid for a year in his new apartment.

Thinking of his personal life lead his thoughts back to Lana and how she had just dumped him in the middle of an interview to go off with Lex Luthor; he reasoned that maybe his delving into her personal life had been more of an issue than she had originally let on, maybe that stalker really had made her scared of any relationship with any man, but then why would she trust a man like Luthor?

Shaking off the disturbing image of Lana in Luthor’s arms; Clark opened his word processor and began writing his article, it was titled ‘Artist Lang Opens One Woman Show to Rousing Success’.
Clark detailed the different works of art that Lana had on display and then delved into her background without giving away anything to personal; he included comments by her professor’s and some of the students in Paris who remembered Lana and finally he closed with the news that Lana’s entire collection had been purchased by an anonymous collector.

Clark knew it was petty, but he didn’t want to give Lex any unnecessary publicity if he could avoid it; it was nothing more than gut instinct, but Lex just rubbed Clark the wrong way; it was nothing he could put his finger on, but he just knew that Lex Luthor was not a man to be trusted.

It was nearly 1 AM by the time Clark finished the article; he re-read it several times before he was satisfied with the finished product, he just hoped that Perry White felt the same way about it that he did. Going to his kitchen, Clark poured a glass of Sobe Citrus drink from his refrigerator and went out to his balcony; the drink didn’t effect him at all but he did enjoy the flavor, as he listened to the city he didn’t hear any major disasters that needed Superman’s attention so he turned in. That was the hardest concept that he had to come to terms with, the fact that he shouldn’t help with every little emergency and limit himself to just the major ones; he was only one man and couldn’t be everywhere all the time, and on top of that, it wasn’t good to let normal humans become too dependent on him to solve their problems; his job was to be a symbol for everyone to follow and not their personal safety net.

After turning out the lights and turning in for the evening, Clark couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between Lex and Lana after he had left and whether there was still any future for him with the delightful if often confusing Lana Lang?


As Clark was making his way back to his apartment, Lana and Lex were touring around the gallery as he questioned her about all the work’s of art that he had just purchased; Lex insisted that they walk arm in arm and Lana felt obliged due to his large purchase, even if it did give her the creeps to have this man so close to her.

She didn’t know quite what it was about him that made her feel this way, because he said all the right things and on the surface appeared to be a very charming man; but, Lana had always had this innate sense about people, about knowing the strength of their character (excluding Jon Paul of course); but the hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight out giving her this feeling of dread, which was a feeling she hadn’t had with Clark on their first meeting.

Thinking of Clark brought an uneasy feeling to Lana’s heart; they had only just started to see what their friendship was about when Lex swooped in and kidnapped her away from her time with Clark; and by the time she looked back, Clark had left, giving her a profound sense of loss. What she couldn’t figure out was why she had such a sense of loss when they barely even knew each other.

“…what do you think of that, Lana?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Lex; I was lost in thought for a second; what was it you needed?”

“I was wondering if you would consider painting my portrait, of course it would be a commissioned piece; you would find it a most lucrative opportunity.”

“That’s a very generous offer, Mr. Luthor; but I’m afraid I must decline.”

Lex stopped walking and so did Lana; he turned and regarded her with a probing stare; Lana was becoming very uncomfortable with the way Lex was looking at her. “Lana, I didn’t get where I am today by being able to accept no for an answer to something I really wanted.”

“Then, I suggest you learn to live with disappointment, Lex; because my answer is not going to change anytime soon; I don’t do portraits and I don’t work with live models, period.”

“I reserve the right to try and change your mind.”

“Suit yourself, Lex; thank you for purchasing my collection, but it’s been a very exhausting day and I’m heading home now.”

“I’ll give you a ride in my Limo.”

“No thank you; I don’t accept rides from strangers and I’m very protective of my privacy, again thank you and have a nice evening.”

Without another word, Lana turned and walked with a purpose from the gallery before Lex could try and follow her; as she walked out of the gallery her mind drifted not to Lex or Clark but to the mysterious flying hero known as Superman. She had just told Lex that she would never work with a live model, but that was a lie because she’d break that vow in a heartbeat to get near such an outstanding specimen of a man.

Now that her 1st collection had been sold and she didn’t have to worry about money for the foreseeable future; she could concentrate on how the best way would be the meet the mysterious flying hero.


The next morning Clark woke up early to prepare for his meeting with Perry White; he showered and dressed in a classic 2 piece blue business suit, complete with blue rimmed hat; once he was satisfied with his appearance he printed his article and slipped it into his leather portfolio.

As he walked out the door, Clark reactivated his security system and took the elevator down to the lobby; he nodded to Jennifer, the receptionist in the lobby and continued out the door; all the while not paying any attention to the dreamy eyes she was giving him.

Walking down the streets of Metropolis, Clark wondered about the logic of what he was trying to do; last night he had a dream of flying thru the sky and people cheering him as he saved them from a disaster, he woke up feeling like the king of the world. But, then Jor-el’s warning came back to him to not place himself in the position to take over human beings lives and take their choices away from them.

That reason alone was reason enough for him to continue on this course of action; becoming one with the people of earth instead of taking their choices out of their hands; if the people of this planet are going to evolve into the race that Jor-el envisions them to become, then he must be a beacon to steer the ship of humanity and not the rudder that drives it.

As he arrived at the Daily Planet, Clark stood and looked up to the sky; he focused on the rotating replica of the planet earth as the words ‘Daily Planet’ rotated around the spinning globe; Clark was so intent on the Globe that he failed to notice a certain perky blonde until she was standing next to him. “Good Morning, Clark. See anything interesting?”

Clark jumped briefly before he regained his composure enough to act like something more composed than the goof he actually felt like. “Good Morning, Chloe. No, I was just looking at the planet’s logo and thinking about the future.”

Chloe was thinking about the future also, but her future was with a certain blue glad hero who was going to make her career for her. “And what do you see in your future?”

“Lot’s of late nights on a word processor.”

Chloe started laughing as she grabbed Clark’s arm and dragged him into the building, she had a feeling about this man and thought that he’d not only make a good reporter but a good friend as well. “So, tell me; how was the show at the Art Gallery?”

“You know about that?”

Chloe turned to Clark once they were alone and inside the elevator, she pressed the button for the top floor. “You’ll find that there isn’t much that goes on around this building that everyone else doesn’t find out about a short while later.”

“Grapevine of the Press?”

“You got it, buddy.”

As Clark looked at Chloe a strange realization came upon him; the realization that Chloe could be his friend; not a romantic interest such as Lana but someone with whom he could confide in, not about what he was but about little things and it was a strange realization that he needed that right now. “Hopefully, Perry White will give me the opportunity to become part of that grapevine today.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

Walking out of the elevator, Chloe and Clark went their separate ways as Clark headed to Perry’s office while Chloe went to her desk on the news floor to see what disaster needed reporting on next. Clark knocked on Perry’s door and heard him bark at whoever was bothering him to come in.

As Clark walked into his office, Perry looked up with a grunt and pointed toward a seat. “Sit down, kid; I take it since you’re here that you have a story for me?” Clark nodded his head and opened his case to give Perry the article on Lana’s show.

Perry took the article roughly and started reading, Clark just sat and examined the walls of Perry’s office; there were more awards lining the walls of his office than 10 editor’s should have been able to earn in a single lifetime; and yet there they were, speaking volume’s about the commitment of the man to excellence.

Perry was busy circling some items and crossing out others and finally he finished reading and looked up at Clark, he grunted before bellowing into his intercom. “SULLIVAN, GET IN HERE.” Chloe walked in as if she knew he would be calling her. “Here’s Kent’s article; it’s a little rough so help him polish it up and then get it down to press.”

Clark looked between Perry and Chloe before asking the question of the moment. “I take it that I’m hired?”

Perry sat back and snickered at him. “Nothing get’s by you does it, Kent. After you finish polishing that article up, get down to Personnel and fill out all the appropriate paper work and then Sullivan here can show you around.”

Clark rose and shook Perry’s hand before following Chloe out onto the news floor; Chloe elbowed him in the ribs. “Nice job big guy; now don’t mess it up and we should get to work together.” Clark grinned and was about to thank her when someone started yelling from across the news floor.

“Get someone over to the Luthor Grand Hotel; it’s going up in a blaze of fire!”

[Nemu]

Go SUPES GO!!!!

[The Black Cat]

Great update! Can't wait for more!!!

[treker]

Chapter 6

“A Timely Rescue”

Lana was dreaming; she was dreaming of a man in blue tights and a red cape; she was dreaming of his lips on her lips, his tongue playing with hers. She slipped her hands to a clasp and started to remove the form fitting costume, her hands played up and down his back as he pulled her closer and closer to her; he opened his mouth to say something but only a loud shrill came out of his mouth.

Lana started to cough and she didn’t understand why; it was getting harder and harder for her to breath; she looked to her hero standing before her, but he was fading as she cried for him; he opened his mouth again but that same loud piercing shrill came from his mouth.

Lana’s eyes fluttered open and she realized that she was in her bed and there was smoke all around her; she went into a coughing fit as she tried to rise from her bed, she heard the smoke detector making an ungodly racket and realized that was the shrill noise she kept hearing in her dream. It was at this moment that her consciousness came into focus and she realized that the hotel was on fire.

She rolled out of bed wearing nothing but a teddy and crawled on the floor over to her balcony doors; she was fast losing her strength as she finally reached the glass door, reaching up with all the strength she had left she pushed open the door just as she lost consciousness.


Clark raced to the elevator with Chloe hot on his heels; Clark had one thought in his mind, and that was how he could ditch Chloe long enough to change into Superman before anyone lost their lives before he could put out the fire. “Chloe, I’ll meet you at the fire; I’m going to go get a photographer to take some pictures.”

“I’m sure someone is already in route, Clark.”

Clark’s mind was spinning every conceivable excuse that he could come up with before he came up with a weak response. “Can we really take that chance?” Chloe thought about it for a second and she knew that capturing a disaster on film was difficult because there were no second chances, if a photographer wasn’t there then they could miss their opportunity. “Okay, Clark; I’ll meet you there.”

Clark watched as Chloe ran out the door as he ran out a side door that lead into an alley behind the Planet building; once there he scanned the alley with his x-ray vision to verify that no one could see him, once satisfied he opened a secret compartment in his belt buckle and unfolded his costume from a crystal powered section that shrunk his costume to a microscopic level, however, once exposed to air expanded quickly changed his clothes and placed his street clothes back into the same compartment.

Taking to the air he flew with all due haste to the Luthor Grand Hotel; it was the largest hotel building in the Midwest, over 200 stories tall; which was causing the fire dept all kinds of headaches as their hoses could only fight a fire up to the 20th floor without actually going into the burning building itself.

Landing next to the lead fire truck Superman approached the fire chief and pulled him aside. “Chief, pull your men back and let me handle this.” The chief just looked him over not believing what he was seeing. “And just who the hell do you think you are, this is our job and I’m not going to abandon those people to die.”

“Chief, you and I both know that you can’t combat a blaze in a building that tall; and if you’ve followed the news at all you should realize that I can; now pull your men back and handle things from down here while I do what I must.”

Without waiting for further discussion, Superman launched himself back into the air just as Chloe arrived on the scene to see him rise into the air; she swore to herself that she had missed a prime opportunity to talk to the key to her future, and then kicked herself for being selfish when people’s lives were in danger.

Superman circled the building using his x-ray vision to pinpoint everyone in the building before smashing thru the walls and carrying the people down to the firemen and the waiting ambulance personnel; faster and faster he worked to get everyone to safety until he reached the top floor and saw one prone woman laying face down just inside her balcony.

Landing on the balcony he turned her over and was shocked to see it was Lana; listening carefully he was relieved to hear her heartbeat and her breathing, although neither was at a very healthy rate; Superman realized her life was in grave danger if he didn’t get her to the ambulance and some oxygen quickly.

Flying back down to the ground he gently placed her on a gurney and stood there looking at her before his sense of duty got the better of him and he took back to the sky; Superman knew the building was now secure of people, but there was still a raging inferno going on. Superman flew around the building in an ever increasing speed until he could scarcely be seen; what was seen and felt was a tremendous updraft all around the building as Superman was creating a wind vortex that was sucking all the oxygen out of the building and snuffing out the flames.

As Chloe watched she could see that he was circling the building looking to see if any more fires had sprung up; once satisfied he zoomed away to let the firemen take part in the cleanup; As Chloe continued to look to the sky, Clark walked up and tape her on the shoulder causing her to jump in fright. “Clark, don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry, Chloe; I see our mysterious benefactor has once again saved the day and left without so much as a thank you.”

“Or an interview.”

Clark produced a 35 MM digital camera and showed Chloe the pictures of the fire and Superman flying people to safety. “You got pictures? Clark, that’s fantastic; Perry’s going to love you.”

“God, I hope not; I like girls.”

Chloe started laughing and Clark was immensely satisfied that he had taken the time to pick up the camera on the way out of the planet and set it up on auto flash to take the photo’s as he worked to save everyone’s lives; and it also gave Clark Kent an Alibi as to what he was doing while Superman did his thing. Looking over on the gurney, Clark saw Lana on an Oxygen mask on. “Lana….”

Chloe watched as Clark rushed over to her and then she remembered his article on the Art Gallery and realized this must have been the Lana in the article; realizing that she had just been rescued by Superman, Chloe thought she would make a good interview to get some insight on the Mysterious Superman.

As Clark came to a stop beside her gurney, Lana pulled on her oxygen mask to speak with Clark but her strength was failing her. “Clark….” Clark put his hand over hers and shook his head. “You’re okay, Lana; just let the paramedic’s take care of you and I’ll come visit you in the hospital.” Lana nodded as she lost consciousness, her gurney was lifted into the ambulance and Clark watched as it speeded away to get Lana the help she needed.

Chloe walked up beside Clark and looked up at him as he watched the speeding vehicle; she thought she detected a hint of a tear in his eye before he blinked and looked down at her. “Clark, is there more going on between you two than just the subject of an article?”

Clark turned his gaze away from Chloe as he watched the road that had taken Lana away from him; the road was deserted like his life had been deserted since the deaths of Martha and Jonathan Kent, seeing Lana on that gurney had been like the day he had to identify his adopted parents bodies after the accident that had killed them. “Don’t be silly, Chloe; I only just met her a few days ago.”

“What’s the matter, Clark; don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

“No I don’t.” Clark lied, he did believe in love at first sight but he didn’t know Chloe very well and didn’t feel he could risk letting her too far into his inner circle of confidents. “I was just concerned for her; it would be a shame if anything were to happen to one so young and talented.”

“Not to mention, beautiful.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

Clark could see out of the corner of his eye the look that Chloe was giving him; it was the look of a woman who knew she was being lied too; but, he could also tell that it was something that she was also willing to let pass since it was technically none of her business. “Come on, Romeo; we have a story to file and a page 1 by line to secure.”

Clark knew that Chloe was right, he had a responsibility to his new job; despite the fact that his heart was pulling him in the direction of the ambulance and the hospital it was heading for. Looking down at Chloe he could see that she saw right through his façade, but she had the decency to allow him his privacy and not push him about his feelings.

Walking over to Chloe’s car, they both got in and traveled in silence back to the paper; Clark rode in silence looking out the window and wondering what he could do to capture Lana’s heart; and who’s heart she really desired, his or superman’s?


Lana awoke in her hospital bed several hours later, she looked around and found her room full of flowers; as she pulled the oxygen mask off her face she reached up and touched the nearest red rose and wondered who they could be from, could Clark have sent them?

“I take it you like roses?”

Turned her head toward the voice expecting to see Clark or maybe her savior Superman, but instead she found Lex Luthor standing in the doorway; she did her best to keep the disappointment off her face and out of her voice. “Yes, I find them lovely; but, there’s no card.”

“That’s because I thought I’d deliver them in person.”

Even worse Lana thought, they were from Lex Luthor; she wondered what his deal was, he just wouldn’t leave her alone despite the gentle way she tried to let him down at the gallery. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Luthor; but it really wasn’t necessary.”

“Lex, remember? And I disagree, after all you were in my hotel when it caught on fire, I feel partially responsible for the condition that the fire caused you.”

Whether Lex felt responsible or was responsible was something Lana didn’t really care about; all she really cared about was getting him to leave her room and leave her alone. “I’m sorry, Lex; but I’m very tired after my ordeal and I really could use my rest.” Unseen by Lex, Lana pushed the call button under the covers of her bed. A nurse was there within a few minutes of the signal and when she saw all the flowers and the unwanted visitor she went ballistic.

“Who the hell put all these flowers in a room with a patient on Oxygen? And what do you think you’re doing in here baldy?”

The irritation on Lex’s face was evident for all to see. “I’m Lex Luthor, a major benefactor of this hospital and I hope your resume is up to date since you’ll soon have need of it.” Without another word, Lex turned and stormed out of Lana’s room; Lana nodded her head in appreciation to the nurse who had come to defend her right to privacy.

Lana pulled her oxygen mask back over her face and turned over in her bed; a single tear coming to her eye as she wished that there were a way to see Superman, too speak with him. He had saved her life and she desired, no, she needed to thank him; to let him know what his act of heroism had meant to her. She fell asleep dreaming of being in his arms as he flew her to safety.


Superman flew over the city of Metropolis looking for any more trouble spots; as he flew he contemplated a change in the way he was protecting the people of earth, instead of orbiting the planet he was now patrolling Metropolis exclusively; and it didn’t take much examination to realize why he was staying so close to Metropolis, her name was Lana Lang.

Without even realizing what he was doing Superman found himself circling the hospital where Lana was a patient; he became aware of which hospital he was at when he detected Lana’s voice in the building below. A sudden determination overcame him as he descended and landed on the hospital roof; walking down the stairs he exited on Lana’s floor, he portrayed a very regal presence as he walked down the hall in his blue suit with red cape flowing behind him.

No one tried to stop him as he entered Lana’s room and stood in her doorway watching her sleep; she must have sensed his presence as her eyes fluttered open and gazed upon the form of the man who she only saw in her dreams; she thought she was still dreaming until she pinched herself and realized that this was no dream; there standing in her hospital room was Superman, her savior and her dream. “Hi.”

“How do you do, Miss; I wanted to stop by and see if you were all right after your ordeal?”

Lana tried to speak but she still had the Oxygen Mask over her face; pulling it down she finally found her voice. “I’m better now, thanks to you; I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

“It is not necessary to thank me, I only did what was moral and right; I’m just gratified to see that you are recovering.”

Superman started to turn to leave and Lana could see that her chance was slipping away from her if she didn’t act quickly. “My names Lana Lang, what can I call you?” Superman turned back and looked at her in amusement. “My name is Superman, but I think you already knew that, Lana.”

“Well, I know that’s what the news agencies call you; but I was wondering what your given name was from your parents; you do have another name do you not?”

Superman’s lips turned upward in a magnificent grin. “Yes, I have another name.” He just stood there smiling at her as she stood there expecting Superman to say something else. “Well, may I know what it is?”

“No, you may not.”

That was all he said, Lana expected more but there was nothing and she was getting slightly annoyed. “May I ask why?” Superman walked over to her bed and stood next to her, a serious look had come over his face and Lana could see that he was about to convey something important.

“Because I am no fool, and I will place no one’s life in jeopardy because of who I am; I only want to help people but I am not so foolish as to believe that people who would do evil would not do anything within their power to find out anything they could about me, including forcing such information from anyone associated with me. So, you see, if I were to divulge such a secret to you then you would be in grave danger; and I will not do that too you.”

Superman turned and started to leave again before Lana called out to him one final time. “I’m an artist, a painter and sculptor; is there any chance you would model for me so I could capture your likeness for all to see?”

Superman paused by the door, in his mind his answer was a responding yes; but his more sensible side needed time to think about it. “I’ll have to think about that, perhaps.”

Superman left Lana’s room and turned to his right to proceed back to the staircase, if he had turned left he would have run smack into a man in a white business suit who had been listening to their entire conversation; he was a man enraged that Superman could so easily get under the beautiful Lana Lang’s skin like that; that he could cause Lana to disobey her rule about working with live model’s; that man was Lex Luthor…..

[Nemu]

man Lex is and forever will be a freakin bald bastard...

Go Nurse!!!

Of course Lana would want to break her own rule to have Supes model for her...

Man I overlooked the scene where Clark sees Lana on the gurney and thinks of his parents...

It must have been a hard time to go and identify both his parents when they died...

Well... till next Sunday or when your next chapter is ready ;)

[treker]

man Lex is and forever will be a freakin bald bastard...

Go Nurse!!!

Of course Lana would want to break her own rule to have Supes model for her...

Man I overlooked the scene where Clark sees Lana on the gurney and thinks of his parents...

It must have been a hard time to go and identify both his parents when they died...

Well... till next Sunday or when your next chapter is ready ;)


it's starting to look like only 5 people are reading this story here...you, SV and black cat...(oh, and NYC300z and Kent family). Geez, what has happened to this site?

[Nemu]

one of the reason why i told you to post it elsewhere ;)

but there is a lot of ppl that have disappear everywhere...

[The Black Cat]

Yes I'm still reading it!

Well as I said in other thread, this is almost a Chlark forum now. I just come to check out Clana fics and a couple of non-Chlark fics in the Adult section (there are like a 5% of fics taht don't have Chloe as the main character) that are really good. But the levels of Chloe/Chlark Love and Lana/Clana Hate are too high for me here.

Edited: Oh, and I loved Chapter 6 too

[treker]

Chapter 7

"Fortress"

The following day after the fire, Lana was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health; the one thing she was concerned about had been the nurse who had protected her from Lex, and she had made a decision to approach the hospital board about the threat that Lex had made of her personal Florence Nightingale.

After talking with the head of the hospital board she was relieved to know that her fears were unwarranted as this was not the first time that Lex Luthor had threatened to have a member of the hospital staff fired for some slight that he perceived from them; nothing had ever come of Lex’s posturing despite his threats to pull his funding of the hospital, the board of director’s knew that the research that took place here was of high priority to Luthor Corp and that Lex would be cutting his own throat should he see fit to carry out any of his threats; the director had pointed out on many occasions how Queen Industries was just dying to take Luthor Corp’s place as the primary fund raiser for the hospital.

The hotel was a complete loss and would have to be demolished, but fortunately for Lana, Superman had stopped the fire before it had destroyed her floor and all her possessions; with the sale of her artwork, Lana had purchased a brownstone home in a suburb of Metropolis complete with security fence and a studio with plenty of light for her to continue with her work, now if she could just get Superman to say yes to her proposal about modeling for her then her day would be complete.

As she walked into her new home she realized that she had a lot of work to do in order to turn these empty walls into the home she envisioned for herself; however, she did have the foresight to furnish her bedroom before anything else; one of the things that she had loved about this house was the view from the master bedroom, it was on a hilltop that overlooked the city and at night it was like being back in Paris with the whole city lit up beneath her.

The one thing she didn’t know about the view was the fact that she had a clear view of the Daily Planet building; and that was when she thought of Clark again. She had seen the article in the paper about the fire and the exclusive photo’s that he had taken of Superman; it seemed he was becoming very important to the paper in a very short time, a fact that filled her with a great sense of pride as she sensed a man of honor and integrity; something that she found lacking in most men these days (like in Lex Luthor). Thinking of Clark made her wonder what he was doing today.


Clark closed down his laptop and sat back looking out the window of his apartment, he had the feeling that someone was thinking of him and wondered if that person was Lana. And if so, was she thinking of him or was she thinking of Superman? “Enough of this self-reflective crap!”

Changing into Superman, he opened the door to his rooftop access and zoomed into the sky; soon people on the ground noticed his presence as he flew overhead, he could hear people cheering for him as he flew by. It was a very sobering experience, and he began to see the people of earth reacting to him in a way that he had hoped to avoid; he was being idolized and put above the rest of humanity, which was counter productive to what he had hoped to achieve.

Seeing a need to talk to someone, anyone who knew his predicament he turned north and increased his speed past the super sonic; he flew faster than any plane could follow and he made sure he was below the level that radar could track him; within a matter of minutes he had arrived at his Fortress of Solitude. As he entered and flew inside to the center of the structure, he landed next to the control panel and waited to be recognized by the artificial intelligence that maintained the fortress and thought it was his father Jor-el.

“Greetings, Kal-el; what brings you back here so soon?”

Kal-el thought long about what he wanted to say and probably knew the answer, but he still had to ask. “I’ve reestablished my human identity however it seems that the people of earth are placing me on a pedestal; and I worry that they will stop trying to strive to improve their own lives.”

“This is normal, Kal-el; and not unexpected, you are larger than life to them, almost a god in nature and I would be surprised if they didn’t treat you this way; which is why you must keep yourself separate from the humans least they lose sight of the ultimate goal in their lives.”

He needed to hear Jor-el say that so that he would be sure of his decision, once he had heard it spoken aloud he knew in his heart what his response would be. “I can’t do that, Jor-el; it’s not in me to separate myself from humanity. I’ve lived most of my life as one of them and I’m starting to have feelings for someone I have met recently.”

“If you want to be the symbol that humanity needs, Kal-el; then you must keep yourself separate from them, you must control your emotions lest they be your undoing.”

Kal-el was silent for a long time before he came to the conclusion that he knew he would. “I can’t do that, Jor-el; as Clark Kent I can go places and find things out that Superman would never be able to do, and on a personal note, I have no intention of spending the rest of my life alone.”

“It is your destiny, my son.”

“My destiny is what I make it to be, and while I agree with you about Superman being a symbol; my future is Clark Kent and Clark’s Happiness will help in Superman’s destiny, whether you agree with that or not.”


Lex was not happy, not only had the hospital told him to take a flying leap over the nurse incident but Lana’s belongings from the hotel had been moved out over night and no one knew where they had been delivered to; to compound matters he was not having any luck finding out where she had moved to.

He was getting tired of being rebuffed at every opportunity to make her his; he had never wanted anything more than he wanted Lana Lang, and what Lex Luthor wanted Lex Luthor took. Lex called his favorite private detective to track down where Lana had disappeared to; then he called an engineer that he had under his thumb to redesign a special room in his home.

He gave him instructions converting a solarium into a combination of living quarters and studio so that Lana could continue with her artwork; but he informed Lex that it would take several weeks before all the modifications could be made to make the room escape proof as Lex had wanted; Lex did everything short of killing the man to get him to do it faster, however, Lex finally gave in when it was pointed out to him that if he really wanted the room to be escape proof then he would need to give them the time they needed to accomplish the task.

Once he had the details of the remodel under way, Lex turned his attention to a potential thorn in his side; Lex was concerned about a new cub reporter for the planet, a certain Clark Kent whom he had found talking to Lana at the gallery and whom his spies at the hospital had told him was visiting Lana while she was recovering from the fire. Lex had decided the best way to keep this upstart under control was to become his boss, but it was proving more difficult than he anticipated to purchase the Daily Planet, but it was a purchase he was determined to make and once that was accomplished he vowed to make Clark Kent’s life a living hell which would free him to turn his attention to more pressing matters; like finding the best method of controlling Superman….


After leaving the fortress, Superman flew into a low orbit and floated there looking down on the world he was sworn to protect; he tuned his hearing and listened carefully for Lana, he found her heartbeat after a few minutes of listening and she sounded excited, she seemed to be happy from the rhythm of her beating heart which filled his heart with joy.

He was about to follow the sound of her heart to where she was when his hearing picked up on an emergency; a military missile had gone off course and was in danger of spiraling toward downtown Metropolis, and worse yet it had a nuclear payload in it’s nose section, meaning that it had the potential to destroy all life within a 20 mile radius of the city.

Summoning all his speed, Superman directed himself toward the skies over Metropolis; a loud boom sounded as he passed the speed of sound and beyond, faster and faster he pushed himself, achieving speeds he had never before even attempted; he spotted the errant missile 1 mile over the city as it was beginning it’s descent into the heart of the city; using his x-ray vision he looked into the warhead and saw that it was active and would go off on impact, closing the distance with every ounce of strength he had, he flew under the missile and wrapped his arms around it and used his strength and control over gravity to change the trajectory and gradually the missile began to climb into the atmosphere.

As he climbed, Superman heard an alarm sounding in the warhead; it had detected the rise in elevation and had begun a countdown to detonation; he realized that he might only have seconds before the explosion and knew he was still not high enough in the atmosphere to guarantee the safety of the people of Metropolis. Adding his own speed to that of the thrust of the rocket, he caused the missile to accelerate faster than it normally would have been able to accomplish on its own; and just as the missile left the atmosphere was when the explosion occurred.

Kal-el was caught in the heart of an explosion he had never experienced before, it was the most powerful weapon ever devised by man against an alien whose strength had never been tested to this extent before; the pain was worse than anything he had ever experienced in his life and the heat was 10 times hotter than what he had gone thru in the nuclear plant in Russia; it caused him to lose consciousness and without his will to guide him his orbit decayed very quickly as gravity pulled him in an ever increasing rate until he was a fireball headed like a missile straight for downtown Metropolis.

Lana had been watching the entire event on live TV; her emotions had gone for one of outright terror at her impending death, to outright joy that Superman had saved all of their lives with his heroism; and now she was back to a feeling of overwhelming fear and loss as she watched the explosion and the prone body of her hero as it fell back toward the earth. She raced to the window in her bedroom that faced the center of town and the Daily Planet and witnessed his prone form as it fell and crashed in the center of the city, not more than 2 blocks from the Daily Planet.

The news vultures were on the scene faster than Superman had fallen to the street where he now laid; at least, what was left of the street, Superman’s impact had created a crater 500 feet across and at least 50 feet deep; it was a minor miracle that no one was killed by the impact. As the photographers stood around snapping photo’s of the fallen hero, the military took that moment to move in; the US Government along with several other world powers had been looking an opportunity to capture Superman and put him under a microscope and this disaster had just given them the perfect opportunity to do just that.

The soldiers roped off the area and began repelling down into the crater; once down to the fallen hero they put shackles on his hands and feet and pulled him up to the street level; once there he was placed on a gurney where stronger restraints were used to immobilize his arms and feet, the Colonial in charge smiled as he looked down upon Superman’s face. “You should you stayed in hiding; you would have lived a longer life than the one you’re going to experience now.”

As they started to load his prone form into the back of a transport vehicle, one of the photographers yelled out to them. “What are you doing to him? He saved us all; you can’t just take him like that.”

Turning back toward the newsmen the Colonial sneered back at them in warning. “Mind your own business or you might just find yourself on one of these gurney’s; this so called man, is being taken away for study in the name of National Security; you should all be grateful that we’re looking after your best interests this way.”

“Best interest for whom?”

The Colonel didn’t reply, he just smiled and turned back toward the transport; he had what he had come for and everyone else could be damned as far as he was concerned; if he had his way, the man in the back of that van would never see the light of day again……

[Nemu]

doh! I missed a typo...

its Colonel and not Colonial.... sorry :(

GRRRR Stupid military ppl...

You tell Jor-El Clark!!! he is a guide... not you... he can advise but can't control...

Baldy is a b-tard as usual...

Glad he doesn't know where she is now... And that the hospital turned him back about the nurse...

So till next Sunday or if you get done with the next chapter...

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter! PPMS!

[CaptainObvious]

Gosh, where have I been? Just read this story straight through and love it!! Nice job Treker! You've got a great Clana fic going. You've completely got my interest with the room that Lex is building that you can't escape from. Now Clark is hurt! What's next? Post soon!

[treker]

Gosh, where have I been? Just read this story straight through and love it!! Nice job Treker! You've got a great Clana fic going. You've completely got my interest with the room that Lex is building that you can't escape from. Now Clark is hurt! What's next? Post soon!


Welcome to the fic....I'm glad you found it, it's been so quite on k-site I was wondering were everyone was....

[CaptainObvious]

Welcome to the fic....I'm glad you found it, it's been so quite on k-site I was wondering were everyone was....


I'll be sure and check back for future updates! I hope others chime in as well. I anxiously await your next update.

[zeba-el]

good chapter

[treker]

CHAPTER 8


"Captured"

Lana raced through the streets of Metropolis; she was desperate to get to the crash site to see if Superman was alright, but when she got there all she found was chaos and confusion; understanding how big of a news story this was she looked thru the crowd looking for Clark, surely he would be here reporting on this event, he would know what was going on. But, try as she might, she couldn’t understand why he wasn’t here?

Thinking that maybe he had returned to the Planet Building (which was only a few blocks away); Lana raced there as fast as her legs would carry her, once there she pleaded with the receptionist to let her talk with Clark.

“He’s not here, miss?”

“Lang, Lana Lang; please can’t you find him for me, it’s a matter of life and death.”

Lana waited impatiently as she made several calls trying to track Clark down, finally, the elevator opened up and Chloe Sullivan exited and walked toward Lana. “Hello, Lana; I’m Chloe Sullivan, I understand you’re looking for Clark?”

“Yes, I was hoping he could tell me what happened to Superman.”

Chloe’s eyebrow’s shot up her forehead, and here she had thought that Lana and Clark were developing a rapport that was leading them to a romantic relationship. “I haven’t seen Clark all day, and after Superman did his crash landing I tried reaching him but he’s nowhere to be found.”

“What about Superman? Do you have any idea what happened to him?”

“Well, that’s the strange part; you see all the normal government contacts we have say they have no idea who took him; I even have a contact that is so secret that not even my editor knows about him and he assured me that no one, both official and unofficial, has had anything to do with taking Superman which leads me to believe that someone dressed some guys up as soldiers and stole him right out from under our noses.”

Lana’s pulse rate sky rocketed at the suggestion that someone had kidnapped Superman; but who could want to do that and who had the resources to accomplish that, and that’s when the sky fell in on her head, she knew of only one man who had the resources and whom she felt lacked the social conscious to attempt such a feat. “Lex….”

“What makes you think Lex Luthor? I mean, you’re right as far as I’m concerned but I was wondering what you know about the bald pinball head that we don’t?”

“It’s just a feeling; he has a tendency to make my skin crawl.”

Lana’s feelings not withstanding that left 2 questions on the board; Where was Lex holding Superman and what has happened to Clark Kent?


Kal-el felt pain, an overwhelming pain greater than anything he had experienced before in his life and he couldn’t understand why? He could tell he was only semi-conscious without even the strength to open his eyelids, and their was only one substance in the universe that could cause this reaction in him; but he didn’t know where it could have come from; could it possibly have been in the warhead of the missile, was it made of Kryptonite?

Slowly he started to try and move his arms but he found that they were being held down by some form of metal; with every last once of strength he had he forced his eyes open, what he found was a room with white walls and little else except the table that he was strapped down too.

A door opened and a man in a military uniform came into the room and walked over to stand beside his table. “It’s about time you woke up; we can’t exactly do our experiments with you asleep now can we?”

“Experiments, what experiments?” Kal-el’s voice was very weak but he did make his question clear; to which the Colonel merely laughed.

“What are you, all muscle and no brains? I’m talking about the tests which will tell us just what the hell you are.”

Normally, Kal-el wouldn’t have been scared, however, in his weakened condition this man could very well do considerable damage unless his powers rejuvenated very quickly; and being strapped down and experimented upon was a very real fear for him, his father had warned him about it often enough. “You won’t get away with this.”

“Oh, and just who do you think is going to stop me? You?”

Now Kal-el was getting angry, he knew there were men like this in the world; men who had no right to be in a position of trust like being a high ranking military position should entail. Unknown to Kal-el a man in a white business suit watched from behind a one way mirror; the man was aware of Superman’s x-ray vision having studied his exploits in Moscow and thus he had the mirror constructed of a special lead element to prevent his being able to see him and know who his captor really was.

“Let’s start with a little pain test shall we?” The Colonel pulled back and delivered a right cross to Superman’s temple; there was a trickle of blood from the wound he created which to the Colonel shock has healed instantly, Superman felt the pain but it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, which told him his powers were coming back.

Superman smiled up at the Colonel as if to tell him his time was almost up, slowly he started flexing his muscles in his arms and the metal restraints started to buckle as his super strength was returning as well. “Tell you what, Colonel; just because I’m a nice guy, I’m going to give you a warning; in about a minute I’ll have the strength to break out of these straps and if you’re still in this room when I do you’ll be a very sorry man indeed.”

The Colonel sneered at Superman and was about to hit him again when a mechanical voice came over the loud speaker, Superman could tell it was electronically altered to protect the user’s identity; which told him that he would be able to recognize the voice should the need arrive. “Get out of there now, Colonel!”

The Colonel only hesitated for a few seconds before running out the door just as Superman broke free of his restraints; rising from the table he tried using his x-ray vision to see who the mastermind behind this capture was but it seemed that every wall was made up of lead; someone had gone to a lot of trouble to arrange this little get together; and he imagined that particular someone was long gone by now; but what was important was that he get out of here before more troops showed up that he might have to hurt in order to leave.

Smashing thru the various doors in the building he eventually found himself on the rooftop of a building in the middle of nowhere; but the sun was still shinning as it was late afternoon, it’s energy helped to restore his vitality enough so that he launched himself into the sky, he rose quickly until he was above the clouds several miles up, he just floated there absorbing all the rays of the sun and felt his power return until he felt like himself again.

Unknown to Kal-el, he was being observed from a very high power camera system from an underground bunker that had been designed to be undetectable; the man in white just watched as Superman floated in the sky high overhead, he noticed that Superman seemed to be glowing as he floated in the sky. “I want copies of this delivered to my researchers with emphasis on explaining how he could be utilizing the sun for power and a way to circumvent those powers.” He was running out of patience and wanted a way to control Superman before he could proceed with his global plans.

Kal-el knew he was probably being observed from below ground, but seeing that his powers were now back in full force it really didn’t matter; Looking around he realized that he was probably being missed, he redirected his flight and headed toward his apartment at supersonic speed; he flew so fast that no one noticed him land on the rooftop which allowed him to enter his apartment unseen and change his cloths, which was fortunate as someone was pounding on his door and calling his name.

Deactivating the alarm and opening the door he found a very worried Chloe Sullivan standing in his doorway, her fist about to pound on his door but instead only made contact with his chest. “Clark, were have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I wasn’t feeling well, I guess I should have called in but I was trying to sleep off this flu that’s been going around.”

Chloe looked at him like he was crazy, and he got the impression that she wasn’t buying his act. “Well, you picked the worst time to get sick, Clark; you can’t tell me you haven’t seen the news reports of Superman and his disappearance.”

Clark let Chloe come in as he continued his act of being sick, even faking a cough every once in a while. “I saw and I tried to get dressed and go find out what I could, but the room started to spin and I almost passed out; has there been any word on him yet?”

“No, and I’m more than a little concerned since my contacts in the government have no clue as to who could have him.”

Clark walked over to the balcony and looked out into the city. “Who said it has to be a government agency that took him?” Chloe looked at Clark with a grin on her face, because she had already come to the same conclusion and was happy that Clark had also.

“So, what do we do now? All my contacts came up empty, and you don’t even have any contacts yet.” Clark continued looking out the window as his mind raced along, he had been thinking about this since he broke out of his captivity and was fairly certain he knew who had imprisoned him.

“I think if you put your mind to it you’ll come to realize who took him.”

Chloe just looked at Clark until the light bulb went off in her head. “You can’t be serious.”

Clark turned and looked her dead in the eye. “He’s got the money, power and resources to pull it off; and why wouldn’t Lex Luthor want a being as powerful as Superman under his control?”

“Yeah, but how did he do it? I mean, Superman can fly is super strong and as far as I can tell indestructible.”

Clark walked into the kitchen and poured 2 glasses of water, one of which he offered to Chloe which she accepted with a smile. “No one is completely indestructible, Chloe; just because we don’t know what his weakness is doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes as she looked at Clark. “Do you know something, Clark?”

Clark looked at Chloe and realized his mistake, although he also knew he hadn’t revealed anything damaging; he’d have to watch that in the future. “No more than you do, Chloe; all I know is all life is born, lives out the normal progression of it’s life and then dies; death is a natural progression no matter how powerful the person in question is, so in essence in order to die it has to have some form of weakness.”

“That’s very Zen of you, Clark; by the way, Lana came looking for you, she left you her new address and phone number.”

Clark took the note that Lana had left him; he noticed that Chloe was giving him the evil eye that said she knew there was more going on than he was telling her. “I didn’t know you two were that close, Clark.”

“We’re not, at least not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“Hope springs eternal, Chloe.”

Chloe gave Clark a hug and left as Clark read the short note, it was an invitation to stop by and talk; it made Clark smile because Lana was asking to see Clark Kent and not Superman; now, what to wear?


Lana was just putting the finishing touches on her living room; she had made her purchases online and had it delivered; it was a mixture of old world and modern décor, 18th century Victorian living room set to go with a more modern computer desk set in the corner overlooking her garden; she also had an electrician install a set a track lights on the ceiling to give a subtle hint of modern lighting that did nothing to take away the atmosphere of the natural lighting that the room provided.

As she laid down on her couch to finally rest and try not to think about either Superman or Clark, her doorbell rang; wondering who it could be she got up and walked to her front door; as she opened the door she was greeted by the tall and handsome figure of Clark Kent all decked out in a turtle neck black sweater and tan slacks, he looked good enough to eat.

“Clark, where have you been?”

[Nemu]

yay for a real Supes moment...

I mean without the green stones... not much can hold him for long...

And well... as far as Chloe goes... you know how I feel about her...

[The Black Cat]

Another fantastic update!!! PPMS!!!

[zeba-el]

great update PPMS

[SVsleuth]

Hi, Brian,

Sorry I haven't replied in a few weeks. I've been busy & got behind in my reading, but now I'm all caught up.

Very interesting couple of chapters - Superman saving Lana from the fire, Lex practically stalking Lana & planning to kidnap her, it seems, & Lex plotting to control Superman. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to endure the cliff hangers along the way. ;)

I'm glad Lana sought out Clark, & he went to see her right away, even before anyone knows Superman is okay & free. I wonder how long it will take before she knows that Clark = Superman. Can't wait for them to get busy dating.

Thanks for the great chapters. PPMS!

[CaptainObvious]

Nice update Treker! I wonder who will figure out Clark is Superman first.....Chloe or Lana? I think Chloe's instincts are making her wonder about Clarks insight about Superman. He'll need to be more careful about his verbal observations to her if he wants to keep his identify hidden.

Glad Lana left Clark a note to visit her and that he showed up on her door step so soon. I hope she's not going to cry about Supes gone missing. That might make Clark feel bad that she's not interested more in him as Clark. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[zeba-el]

please update soon

[treker]

CHAPTER 9

"Lana"



Clark stood in the doorway as Lana gave the impression that he had somehow betrayed her; which was both a good thing and a bad thing for him. On the plus side, he was happy that she had missed him and been worried about him; But, on the negative side, it showed that she was a little controlling and could cause him problems with the whole dual identity thing; it made him question the logic behind maintaining his secret from her if they were really going to have a relationship, almost made him question but not quite enough to tell her yet; she hadn’t earned his trust quite yet.

“Well, hello to you too, Lana; geez, you’d think I had been gone for weeks instead of just a day.”

Lana blushed as she realized the way she had sounded; she almost kicked herself for sounding like a jealous and controlling girlfriend instead of the friends they were. “Sorry, Clark; I am glad to see you, it’s just that after Superman crash landed and then you weren’t anywhere to be found I became concerned.”

Lana stepped aside and let Clark come inside, as he strolled into her home he became impressed with the style of the home; what he liked most was how it had Lana’s personal touch on over it and gave him glimpses’ into her soul, and he liked what he saw. “Very nice décor, Lana; it reminds me of old world European design, I take it this is your influence from Paris?”

“Well, to be honest, I’ve always drifted toward this type of design; even before I moved to Paris, but I’m glad you like it. And, by the way, you didn’t say where you’ve been for the last day during the whole missile crisis and with Superman being abducted.”

Now came the tricky part, could he be more convincing with Lana than he had been with Chloe? “Well, I tried to develop some contacts and do some undercover investigating to locate Superman, but I also developed some type of bug and became sick.”

‘Oh my, I hope you’re alright now?”

“I’m fine; I have a very strong constitution so I usually recover very quickly.”

Lana showed Clark into her living area, as he seated himself Lana went briefly into the kitchen and came back with a tray of iced tea and seated herself across from him; they both poured a cold glass of tea and stared at each other. “So?”

“So…what?”

They both laughed as they both looked for a common area to start the conversation. “Anyway, Lana; this is a lovely home, however, I’m curious why you choose this house instead of another hotel?”

Lana was silent for several minutes as she sipped her tea. “Well, let’s just say that there are certain elements of Metropolis society that I would rather didn’t have easy access to where I live.”

For just a brief second, Clark thought that she might have been talking about himself; until he remembered by a certain bald billionaire always seemed to be lurking about whenever he had the opportunity to be alone with Lana. “I take it that the certain elements of society you’re talking about would be bald?”

Lana sat back with her legs curled up under herself as she rested her chin on her hand; she looked into Clark’s eyes and saw no accusation, no recrimination, only friendship. “You’re very perceptive, Clark; Yes, Lex has been creeping me out, he always seems to be around and prying into my private life and I’m not really liking it too much.”

Clark would have liked to tell Lana about his own experience’s as Superman and the way Lex had made himself feel uncomfortable as well; but, that would entail telling her he was Superman and they weren’t even close to be being at that point yet. “You know, that’s the problem with being a man with so much power and money; you think you can have whatever you want just because you want it. It’s not how I want to live my life.”

“That’s nice to hear; but, I’m curious, what do your parent’s think of all this, surely they must be proud of you?”

Clark was silent for several minutes as Lana’s comment came back to his adoptive parents and the pain of what happened to them; Lana looked at Clark in concern, wondering what she had said to make him so quiet. “Clark, did I say something wrong?”

Clark looked up into Lana’s eyes and shook his head. “No, I guess I should be over this by now but it seems like it happened only yesterday and not 12 years ago.”

Lana could see the pain in Clark’s eyes and knew she should change the subject, but as with Pandora, once the box was opened she had no choice but to peer inside. “What are you referring to, Clark?”

“12 years ago I was traveling down a highway in Smallville Kansas; I was 18 years old in the back of my family’s pickup truck; My dad was driving and my mother was in the cab with him when a meteor shower struck the area, the 2nd one in the last 30 years. A meteor struck the road right in front of our truck, causing it to fly up in the air and flip over several times, I was thrown clear of the truck just as the fuel tank exploded killing my parents inside.”

Clark’s head was lowered as he recounted in agonizing detail an event that he couldn’t seem to get past, what he didn’t tell Lana was that he wasn’t thrown free of the truck, it exploded around him but then to tell her he was invulnerable would reveal a secret he’d rather not do right now. Lana, for her part, was devastated by the story and got up and walked over to Clark and knelled before him; placing her hands over his she expressed her sorrow at his loss. “Clark, I’m so sorry; I never should have brought up such a painful subject.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know; I suppose I should be over this by now, but sometimes it comes back as if it had only happened yesterday.” And the fact that he was in suspended animation for 12 years while he trained didn’t help matters either.

“Clark, I don’t think there’s a moratorium on how long it takes a person to recover from such a traumatic event; if my parents had died in such a way I don’t think I would ever have recovered from it.”

Clark gripped her hands in gratitude for her sympathy. “I take it that you’re parents are still alive and well?”

“Yes, they still live in New York; although I haven’t talked with them since I left Paris.”

Clark stood and walked over to the window overlooking the city, Lana watched him as he struggled with powerful emotions; she realized that there were many levels to Clark Kent that she was only now beginning to see.

“Do yourself a favor, Lana; never miss an opportunity to tell them how much you love them, don’t let to much time pass without talking to them, for you never know when life will take any opportunity away from you to ever speak to them again.”

Lana walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, placing the side of her face against his back; Clark placed his hands around hers surprised at how such a simple gesture could bring such joy to his heart.

Turning back toward Lana he brought her eyes up to his by placing his hand under her chin and raising her face upward. “Thank you, it hasn’t been often that I’ve had the opportunity to talk about them and they deserve to be remembered; they were the finest people I have ever known.”

It was a very intense moment for the both of them, and it scared Lana as she still had conflicted feelings for both Clark and Superman; although she had to admit that she was starting to have stronger feelings for Clark than for Superman since she had more interaction with Clark.

Sensing a need to lighten the mood, Lana took Clark on a tour of her home and ending with her bedroom; the first thing Clark noticed was the picture window that overlooked the city and the Daily Planet building which was featured prominently in the horizon. “Nice view, Lana.”

“I thought so; it made me think of you.”

“I love your home, Lana; I take it you’ll be doing your art from here as well?”

“Oh, most definitely; I can’t work in an environment in which I’m not comfortable, which is also why I rarely work with live model’s in my paintings.”

Clark raised his eyebrow at that statement considering that she had made that offer to him as Superman. “I guess you would have to trust that person to invite them into your private space for an extended period of time.”

“Exactly; Which is why Lex Luthor will never be one of my models!”

“What does Lex have to do with live models?”

Lana fidgeted a little before answering as she was a little uncomfortable explaining the way Lex Luthor made her feel. “He tried to get me to paint his portrait, which on the surface wasn’t an unusual request, especially considering that he had just purchased my entire collection; but, something about him just makes my skin crawl, I feel dirty when he’s around.”

Clark nodded his head as he listened to her, Lana obviously trusted her instincts in absence of facts to make her decisions; he wished more people would do that, then maybe there would be a lot less suffering in the world. “I agree, there’s just something about Lex Luthor that makes me think he’s evil; I can’t quite place my finger on it, but my gut tells me to never drop my guard around that guy.”

“Well, you’re a reporter now; why don’t you investigate him and see if there’s anything to your gut feelings?”

Clark stood looking out the window and started to nod his head in agreement; he knew he would have to come up with some angle for a ground breaking story to present to Perry in order to cement his reputation as a serious reporter. “Thanks, Lana; I think that’s a great idea, and who knows, maybe I’ll bring down someone who just happens to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

“Okay, enough with this depressing talk; now, you took me out to lunch last week so I only feel it’s right if I cook you dinner.”

Clark turned away from the window and cocked his head sideways. “You….cook?” Clark ducked to the side just as a pillow came sailing at his head. “Yes, smarty pants I do cook; that’s what happens when you spend the better part of your life living in one of the cultural and culinary centers of the planet.”

“Now this I’ve got to see; world renowned artist burns food in kitchen.”

“Watch it buddy, or I may make a dish that’ll keep you in the men’s room for most of the evening.”

Clark threw up his hands in surrender as he followed Lana into the kitchen; she poured him a glass of white wine and one for herself as she got to work making their dinner; Clark didn’t know what she was making but it smelled delightful. Lana made a Fettuccini Alfredo with spinach, baked salmon and for desert a pumpkin cheese cake that melted in Clark’s mouth.

“Wow that was the best meal I’ve had in a very long time; thank you.”

Lana smiled in gratitude at the compliment. “You’re welcome, but I still say I’ve never in my life seen anyone eat as much as you do and still stay in such fantastic shape.”

“Oh, you like my shape?” Lana blushed at that question, a fact that didn’t escape Clark as he flashed her a smile that lit up her face and caused her to look away for a moment. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Oh, you’re incorrigible.”

“True, but before this get’s out of hand I should say my goodnight; I do have some research to begin on our black sheep and if I’m not mistaken it’s nearly 10PM and I’ve been here all day.”

Lana looked at her watch and was shocked to realize that Clark was right; she hadn’t even noticed the passage of time because Clark’s company had been so enjoyable. “My god, you’re right; I didn’t mean to monopolize your whole day, Clark.”

“Nonsense, it was the most enjoyable day I’ve had in many years; I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that.”

Lana walked Clark to the front door and opened it for him; as they stood in the entry Clark gave Lana a hug goodnight; Clark started walking down the steps to her front gate and Lana stayed in the doorway watching him retreat from her home. Unknown by either Lana or Clark, a black Limosine was parked up the street and watched Clark as he left Lana’s home; he also watched Lana’s expression as she watched Clark walk away, to say the person in the Limo was upset would be an understatement.

The window to the Limo slowly rose up and shut as the car started moving slowly down the street; the only identifying mark on the Limo was on the License Plate….it said ‘Prometheus’.

[Nemu]

wow we are already up to chapter 9?

well some more info on Lana... nice!!! And that from the start she is hating the Chrome Dome sure is nice...

And note to Clark... if or better yet... when you will want to get serious with Lana relationship-wise... the first thing you will have to do... well second thing I guess.. (1st being asking her to "make it official") will be to tell her everything... because if you don't.. no relationship...

[SVsleuth]

Wonderful chapter, Brian. I love having a whole chapter focused on Clana, even in it's early stages. That was a very enjoyable visit. Glad Lana is already cautious about Lex, & that Clark plans to dig into him for a story. PPMS!

[zeba-el]

great update i really enjoyed it. good to see that lana thinks lex is a prick update soon

[kentfamily]

Excellent read. Keep up the good work! Next chapter please.:);):D

[CaptainObvious]

Another good update! Well, these two are getting there...slowly but surely. Even though Lana inadvertanly brought up a bad memory for Clark with his parents, it was nice how she consoled Clark by simply throwing her arms around his waste. Such a simple gesture but so meaningful for Clark.

Keep writing!

[zeba-el]

I hope we get an update 2moz

[Nemu]

I hope we get an update 2moz

Don't worry zeba... you can expect a weekly update for the next 8 Sundays right now...

Unless something prevent treker from updating that is ;)

[treker]

CHAPTER 10

"Prometheus"

Clark woke up the next day with a disgustingly huge grin on his face; the grin came not from a dream but from the reality of the day he had spend at Lana’s home, it was the knowledge that Lana was falling for him, Clark Kent, and not the man in Blue Tights and flowing Red Cape. Singing a happy tune he showered and changed for the first day of his investigation into Lex Luthor and the man he believed was responsible for his capture and interrogation at the secret base.

But first he had a phone call to make; Lana picked up her phone just as she was drying her hair, she squealed in delight as she saw that it was Clark Kent on her caller ID. “Hi Clark, I was just thinking about you.”

“Great minds think alike; I just wanted to again thank you for yesterday, I can’t ever remember a day when I’ve been so relaxed and enjoyed someone’s company so much.”

Lana smiled at hearing the compliment and the sincerity in his voice. “Right back at you, big guy; so, what are you doing today?”

“Taking your advice and launching my investigation into Lex Luthor; but first I have to run it past my editor to get official approval; what about you, any special plans?”

“Oh, I was inspired yesterday; so, I think I’ll start a new painting, maybe a portrait of my favorite investigative reporter.”

Clark’s eyebrow’s shot up to his hairline at the mention of his painting being down by Lana; he was touched on more level’s than he cared to think about. “I’m honored, but surely there are better things to paint than me.”

“None that come to mind; but, I’m keeping you from taking down the bad guys so I’ll get to work and let you start your story.”

“Okay, Lana; I’ll call you later, take care.”

“You too; bye, Clark.”

After ending his phone call with Lana, Clark realized that it had been a couple of days since the world saw his alter ego crash land and taken prisoner; so, he decided to make an appearance in the sky’s over Metropolis just to let everyone know he was back before he headed over to the Daily Planet and his meeting with Perry.

After changing into his Alter Ego, Superman went up to the roof and took to the sky; flying over the city he came across a bank robbery with heavily armored gunmen who had the police pinned down with semi-automatic rifle fire; swooping down he had them disarmed in seconds, one of the gunmen looked at Superman in astonishment. “I thought you were dead?”

Superman just looked at them in amusement. “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Turning the crooks over to a very grateful police force Superman took to the sky’s once again, he was seen all over town as he stopped many crimes either thru direct intervention or just having been seen.

And being seen was exactly what he was striving for; news crews from a local TV Station caught him on film which they had on the air within minutes; Lana had been starting her painting of Clark when she saw on the TV that Superman was indeed back, and she felt guilty about it. Guilty because upon seeing him on TV her conflicted feelings resurfaced again.

Chloe Sullivan also had a strong reaction at the Daily Planet upon seeing Superman flying thru the sky’s over Metropolis; she felt outright joy over the prospect of interviewing the man and getting that raise that Perry had promised her.

And just as she had been watching the news reports, she saw Clark Kent get off the elevator looking happier than any man had any right to be; she guessed that his meeting with the lovely Lana Lang must have been better than she imagined.

As he sat down at his desk across from hers she couldn’t help but to comment on his state of mind. “Hey, big guy; that Lana must really make a mean Lasagna to get you that happy.”

“Actually, the main course was Salmon; but yes she is an excellent cook, and she makes a Pumpkin Cheesecake that is to die for.”

Chloe’s mouth started to water at the mention of the pie; then she got annoyed at Clark. “No fair describing things I can’t have; I love Pumpkin Cheesecake.”

Clark was about to come up with a witty comeback when a familiar bellow could be heard across the newsroom. “KENT, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I DON’T PAY YOU TO DISAPPEAR ON ME FOR DAYS ON END, NOW GET YOUR KEESTER IN HERE.”

“Time to go face the lion in his den.” Clark walked into Perry White’s office and sat in the chair facing him. “Okay, Kent; where the hell have you been?”

“Finding you a story, if you’re interested in hearing me out?”

Perry White was always interested in a story; he sat back and took his glasses off encouraging Clark to present his story idea. “I want to investigate Lex Luthor in connection with the abduction of Superman.”

Perry’s eyeballs popped out of his eye sockets at the mention of where Clark wanted to go with his next story. “And just what makes you think there is a connection between the two?”

“I don’t have any proof, but, Chloe’s sources tell her that no one in the military had anything to do with taking him after he crash landed; and there’s just something about Lex Luthor that doesn’t sit right with me, and I’m not the only one who thinks that.”

Perry looked up at his ceiling and closed his eyes for a few minutes; when he looked back at Clark he leaned forward and Clark could tell he was being deadly serious. “Look, Clark; I’m not saying I disagree with you or think you’re wrong, but you’d better be ready for what you’re getting yourself into if you pursue this. Lex Luthor is a very powerful man, and not someone that you should make an enemy of lightly.”

“He doesn’t scare me, Perry; and if I’m right, do we really want to give a power mad man like that free reign to pursue someone as powerful as Superman? What if he should find a weakness to exploit and get him under his control?”

“All very good points, Clark; just be careful and don’t get your head blown off, I’d hate to have to replace you so early in your career.”

Clark was floored by Perry’s expression of concern for his welfare, he wished he could reassure Perry that the likelihood of anything happening to him was remote at best, but then that would involve revealing more than he was willing to reveal to his boss. “I appreciate the concern, Perry; don’t worry, I’ll be careful; so, do I have your approval to proceed with the investigation?”

“Yeah, go get the bastard.”

Returning to his desk, he found Chloe had been eyeing Perry’s office door the entire time that he had been in his office. “What?”

“I’m just wondering what that was all about, Clark?”

“Hey, you’re going after Superman’s Interview; and I’ve got a big fish of my own to fry.”

Chloe couldn’t imagine who would be a better article than Superman, but it was obvious to Chloe that Clark wasn’t going to say anything else about his investigation. “Fine, keep your secrets Mr. Kent; I’ll be more than willing to settle for the Superman article.”

Clark just smiled as he gathered his things and headed out, and Chloe couldn’t help but wonder what Clark could possibly be after that could be as big as Superman?



Once outside the planet building, Clark ducked down a back alley and changed into Superman in the blink of an eye and took to the sky; the more he thought about it the more he was convinced that Lex was behind his abduction, but what was more disturbing to him was his weakness after the explosion and the possibility that the warhead of the missile had been unknowingly constructed of the one substance that can kill him.

He had a decision to make, and it was not a decision that he took lightly; but the potential threat of the missiles was something that he just couldn’t let pass; however, before that fateful decision was reached he needed to start tracking Lex’s movements and seeing if there was any connection to the events after his crash landing.

He flew over the Luthor Corp building and used his x-ray vision to verify that Lex was indeed in his office; once that was done he landed in another alley and changed back into Clark Kent and entered the building, he walked up to the receptionist and introduced himself. “Good day, miss; I was wondering if I could see Mr. Lex Luthor?”

The receptionist was a very attractive woman who took one look at Clark and started breathing heavily; she purposely leaned forward letting her blouse fall forward exposing her more than ample cleavage. “Oh, are you sure seeing Mr. Luthor is all you want?”

Clark was disappointed but not surprised by the woman’s obvious sexual advance, he had seen it more times than he cared to admit; however, outwardly he merely smiled and ignored what she obviously wanted from him. “Yes, miss; I’m a reporter from the Daily Planet and I’m doing an article on Superman and I wished to discuss that with Mr. Luthor; could you please ask him if he’ll see me?”

While he waited for her to call her boss and ask permission for Clark to go up to his office, Clark tuned his hearing and listened through the many floors until he located Lex’s voice and heard him on the phone. “….look, I know he got away; but there’s no way he can connect me to Prometheus, so relax. Hold on a second, my secretary is buzzing me.”

Initially he refused the interview until his secretary told him about the article regarding Superman and that made him change is mind; the secretary told Clark he could go up and opened the private elevator leading directly up to Lex’s Penthouse office. On the ride up, Clark contemplated what he had overhead Lex talking about, his suspicion about Lex’s complicity in his abduction had been confirmed, however, Lex mentioned ‘Prometheus’; what in god’s name was Prometheus and what did it have to do with him?

As the elevator door opened Clark found himself in a waiting room with another secretary at her desk and 2 security guards standing on either side of the door leading into Lex’s private office; it was obvious the man had many enemies and he didn’t take that lightly. “Clark Kent to see Mr. Luthor.”

Clark was buzzed into Lex’s office, as he walked across the room and to Lex’s desk he looked around and could see camera’s in several corner’s video taping everything that went on in this office; he also noticed a painting on the far wall that caught his eye, upon further examination he noticed the artist’s signature in the corner, it said Lana Lang; this made Clark uneasy that Lex had a piece of Lana to himself, but he let the feeling go and concentrated his attention on Lex.

Clark offered his hand in greeting; however, Lex neither stood nor accepted the offer of a handshake. “I know you don’t I Mr. Kent?”

Clark just looked at his hand hanging in midair and lowered it in disappointed at Lex’s lack of social graces. “Yes, we met at the art gallery at Lana Lang’s one woman show; I see you’ve purchased some of her art.”

Lex looked at the painting with a sick smile that made Clark uneasy. “Yes, I purchased the entire collection; don’t you think a man owns a piece of a person when they own their art?”

“I suppose you could look at it that way, although I’d never consider that I owned a piece of someone just because I owned their art.”

“Considering the beauty of the artist in question, I prefer to view it that way; but, you didn’t come to see me about Art, so, what can I do for you Mr. Kent?”

Clark seated himself and organized his thoughts as he began his interview…..

[Nemu]

insight into the mind of a crazy man...

sooo... Clark meets Lex...

I like Perry in there... going the go ahead to Clark to hunt Lex down...

[zeba-el]

great update as usual looking foward to the next one

[shlyish]

Awww Loved the Clana giddieness in the begining.
Felt a bad that Lana has conflicting emotions about Clark and Superman... but she wont have a problem when she finds they are one in the same.

Blah, Lex... thinks Lana owe's him since he bought her art.

I hope Clark use's his hearing and x-ray alot when around Lex and even when he is not.

Perry is pretty cool.
He's gonna be a great father figure for Clark, I think.

[Nemu]

well Ash... at least you were able to read the update ;)

[shlyish]

well Ash... at least you were able to read the update ;)

Haha yeah.
This was the only fic I got to read yesterday because it being in both here and the other(still not working. :( )

[Nemu]

yeah i know... and not many are spread on both site... lucky me i read card's and svsleuth's fic here instead of sweet...

[shlyish]

Yeah I notice they update here first then over there.
Kind of like it.

[Nemu]

actually lately Card has a tendency to update on sweet before posting here... svsleuth it depends and treker it's always here first...

[SVsleuth]

Poor Lana, feeling conflicted about her feelings for superman. I hope Clark doesn't make her suffer for too long before he tells her all.

As for Lex... NO YOU DO NOT OWN A PIECE OF LANA!

Thanks for the update. PPMS!

[treker]

actually lately Card has a tendency to update on sweet before posting here... svsleuth it depends and treker it's always here first...


That's because K-site has a better message board as far as posting fics than sweet. What I mean by that, is that sweet limits you to 10,000 characters per post where the limit here is 50,000.....so unless you have a small post (which I rarely ever do) I have to do the update in several updates on sweet where here I can do the update in 1 post. Also, the editing features here are also much easier to use than on sweet.

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----


Poor Lana, feeling conflicted about her feelings for superman. I hope Clark doesn't make her suffer for too long before he tells her all.

As for Lex... NO YOU DO NOT OWN A PIECE OF LANA!

Thanks for the update. PPMS!

As far as when Lana's will find out.....<shruggs shoulders> :eek:

[The Black Cat]

That was great! PPMS!!!

[Nemu]

As far as when Lana's will find out.....<shruggs shoulders> :eek:

Hmm... yeah... when does she finds out... I do wonder myself...

[kentfamily]

great update

[zeba-el]

woop update 2moz

[treker]

Chapter 11


“Lex”

Lex drummed his finger’s impatiently as he waited for Clark to ask his first question; Lex usually didn’t grant interviews, however, Clark had claimed to be doing an article on Superman and Lex hoped to gain some type of information that he could use as leverage against the self styled hero.

“Mr. Luthor, I understand that Superman saved your life and the lives of your pilots during a flight to Metropolis?”

“Yes, one of our engines stalled and he guided us to safety.”

Clark studied Lex as he asked questions; however, Lex’s face was cold and neutral, revealing nothing. “Did he say anything to you that would give you a hint as to where he comes from?”

“No, he only said that he wanted to help people in need.”

“Do you have any theories about how he can do everything he does?”

“I’m sure I have no idea, and I don’t want to speculate without facts.”

Clark could see that this interview was going to come to a speedy conclusion just by the way Lex was drumming his fingers on his desk; so, before he lost his chance he threw out the one question that was the whole basis for his interview. “One final question, Mr. Luthor; what do you know about Prometheus?”

Lex stopped drumming his fingers mid stream and his eyes narrowed as he drilled Clark with his stare. “I beg your pardon?”

“Prometheus, what do you know about it?”

Clark listened closely to Lex’s heart beat and breathing to see what type of reaction he was going to get and was rewarded with how fast Lex’s heart was beating, and his breathing was becoming slightly labored and he knew he had hit a home run.

“Prometheus was not an object, he was a titan in Greek Mythology who stole fire from the God Zeus and gave it to mortal man for his use.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t referring to Greek legend; I was referring to something more modern and how it pertains to Superman.”

Lex’s grimace was becoming more pronounced and Clark knew that the interview was now over. “I’m afraid I have no information to give you on that subject, Mr. Kent; and I’m afraid I’m late for my next meeting, I hope this was helpful to you.”

Clark stood and gathered his notepad and leather portfolio. “Yes, I found our conversation very illuminating, Mr. Luthor; I appreciate your time, thank you.”

As Clark entered the elevator he again used his hearing as Lex picked up his phone and made a hasty phone call. “What the hell is going on over there with security? I just got grilled about Prometheus by a reporter. Well, somebody’s talking; find out who and get rid of them. Oh, and put an investigator on Clark Kent, I want to know his life story cover to cover.”

Clark smiled as he knew that he had rattled Lex; he was mildly concerned about Lex investigating his past, but he also knew there was nothing there for anyone to find except for a 12 years absence; Clark grinned as he knew how crazy that would make a man like Lex Luthor.

Leaving the Luthor Corp building, Clark again went into an alley and changed into Superman; taking off into the sky he flew around the building and up to the penthouse level to Lex’s office and just floated there looking into the office and Lex yelling at someone on the phone. Something told Lex that he was being observed as he looked around his office, finally he turned his chair until he looked out into the sky and the floating form of Superman smiling at him. Superman waved at his nemesis and then flew off into the afternoon sky as Lex slammed down his phone in irritation at being mocked in this way.

Lex stomped over to his window and pulled the curtains cutting himself off from the outside world, and hopefully from the man who was causing him so much consternation; sitting back at his desk he pulled up a coded file which just so happened to be called Prometheus, looking over his plans he knew he was right to move the operation after Superman had escaped; all he’d find if he went back was an empty building.

But, something in that nuclear explosion had caused him to loose consciousness and made him weak as a kitten, and that was a secret that he’d sacrifice anything to find out what that something was; he had half of his research division looking into just that subject, all other projects were hereby cancelled until they had the answer he was looking for.

Leaving his office, Lex rode his private elevator down to his Limousine, but, before getting in he noticed the license plate which said ‘Prometheus’; kicking himself for being a fool he called one of his people and ordered a replacement plate immediately, with Clark pursuing the project it wouldn’t do for him to see himself riding in his car with that license plate.

That done, Lex ordered his driver to take him across town to a specific address; on the way there he contemplated the choices he was making, the course he was setting himself on; he knew that if he did what he must that there would be no turning back, no redemption.

Lex had been so deep in thought that he had failed to notice when they had arrived at their destination; rolling down the window a third of the way he was able to look out his window and at the home of the object of his desire; he could see inside the window of her home and could see her painting some form of portrait; thinking it was of himself he took out his binoculars and used them to spy on her in her home, he gritted his teeth as the form of the portrait didn’t resemble himself in any way shape or form; however, the portrait did resemble someone he knew, someone like Clark Kent.

Just then he looked to the sky and saw Superman flying overhead, he watched as Lana ran to her window and waved enthusiastically at him; he paused long enough to wave back before flying on; Lex crushed his binoculars in his hands in a fit of rage. “Driver, get me the hell out of here.”

Lex’s driver drove very quickly away as he sensed how upset his employer was; Lex’s mind descended into a dark pit and discarded any thoughts of redemption; he would have Lana and he would control Superman, and all other thoughts be dammed…..


Superman had failed to notice the dark limousine parked just down the street from Lana’s home; he had been preoccupied with waving to her as he flew by and being delighted as she returned the greeting. He resolved that he would have to have a meeting with her as Superman and not Clark Kent and see in which direction she was leaning and whether she was indeed the one who could fill his empty heart.

As he flew over the sky’s he saw something on top of the Daily Planet building that caught his attention; it was Chloe Sullivan searching the sky’s with a telescope; a sly smile came across his lips as he remembered how obsessed Chloe was with getting an interview with Superman, flying faster than the eye could follow he circled the building until he came up the side that placed him behind Chloe. He quickly flew up and landed on the roof a mere 12 feet behind her; he watched as Chloe had completely missed his landing and continued to search the sky.

“Come on tall, blue and gorgeous; you can’t hide from me forever.”

Superman smiled as he floated over to her and whispered in her ear. “What makes you think I can’t hide from you forever?”

Chloe screamed and jumped 3 feet in the air, coming down into Superman’s arms. “Well, hello to you too.”

Chloe looked up into his eyes and was tongue tied. “I…uh….oh….hi.”

Superman set her back down and allowed her to straighten her clothes and regain a little of her dignity. “Could you please not sneak up on me like that, um…Superman?”

“Yes, my name is Superman, and that’s how I prefer to be addressed; sorry about scaring you, but you were just too tempting of a target; so tell, miss, what has you so entranced that you stare at the sky in broad daylight?”

Chloe could feel her heart pounding in her chest she looked up toward the sky, which was necessary for a girl who only stood 5’4” tall and looking up at a demi-god who stood over a foot taller than she did when standing on her tip toes. “Well, to be honest, I was looking for you; oh, and my name is Chloe Sullivan.”

Superman faked looking shocked since he already knew why she was looking for him, but he had to keep up appearances and keep his life as Clark Kent Separate from his role as Superman. “And why would you be looking for me, Miss Sullivan?”

“Why else, I’m a reporter and you’re the story of the Century, maybe the greatest story since Moses parted the Red Sea.”

Superman laughed softly. “I think you overestimate my value.” He knew Chloe was right, he just wish that everyone wouldn’t place him on such a high pedestal.

“You’re just being modest; so, what do you think? Everyone is just dying to know all about you, why you do what you do, where you’re from, do you have a girlfriend?”

Superman knew he had to play it coy, if he showed that he knew what she wanted it might make her suspect that he knew more about her than he should. “An interview, I don’t know, I’m actually very private; I don’t think an interview is a good idea.”

“Oh, come on, Superman; you know you’ll never find any peace until you give this interview; everyone will just keep hounding you until you at least give one interview to tell people your side of the story.”

Superman laughed. “You don’t really expect me to believe they’ll give up on me just because I gave an interview do you?”

“I do if it convinces you to give me the interview; besides, I work for the Daily Planet, which has a world wide readership so the rush to get that first interview will be over and the pressure should ease off on you at least a little bit.”

Superman could see that he had dragged his feet long enough, and it was time to give in and give Chloe what she so desperately wanted. “Alright, Miss Sullivan; where would you like to do this interview?”

Chloe couldn’t believe her good fortune. “My place, in an hour?” Superman agreed and Chloe gave him directions to her loft, she watched as he jumped up and took to the sky; she ran down the stairs to gather her things and get back to her place before her guest arrived, she had a hundred things to do in order to prepare for her guest. “Oh, my god; whatever will I wear…..”

[Nemu]

Well... Chloe might become a problem... I hope Lana learns the secret first...

Lex is a b-tard...

I'll wait for the next chapter ;)


Yeah I lack the originality of comments this morning ;)

[zeba-el]

great update as usual

[The Black Cat]

Excellent chapter! PPMS!!

[SVsleuth]

Looks like I missed last Sunday's update while I was on vacation. Sorry. Better late than never.

Lex is getting desperate. He wants to control Superman, & have Lana - and, he's going to be watching Clark. I hope he doesn't figure out that Clark seems to disappear every time that Superman appears.

Still waiting and hoping for Clark to let Lana in on his secret. As for Chloe, I don't mind that she is the one to get the interview. I just hope she doesn't end up with a huge crush on Superman too, or figure out who he really is.

So... I guess I got here today before you, Brian, so I'll come back later, in hopes of finding today's update. I'll get 2 in one day, since I only just read last week's.

Be back later. :)

[treker]

Chapter 12


“The Interview”



Chloe rushed home for the interview of her life; she knew that everything was riding on this one event and knew that if she didn’t pull out all the stops and cover every possible angle that her career would end up with her in the basement covering obituaries for the rest of her life.

As she ran into her apartment all the blood drained from her face; because, her apartment looked like a cyclone had hit it. Cloths were thrown everywhere and the kitchen was a disaster; she ran like her life depended on it; she took all her dirty cloths and threw them in a closet and closed the door to her bedroom, there was no time to clean in the kitchen so she just took all the dirty dishes and put them in the stove wiped down the counter top and sink.

Looking around she concluded that her place was at least passable for visitor’s and she vowed to change her ways and never let her personal space get this bad ever again (especially not with a god coming to see her).

Next she needed to set up the interview area; her apartment was essentially one room fits all (except for the small bedroom which she had closed off); living room, dining room and kitchen all encompassed one area and she was having trouble deciding whether to do the interview at the table or in the living room on the couch. Ultimately she decided the couch would be best since it would also give her the chance to sit as close to him as she could without seeming to obvious about it.

Rushing into her bedroom again, Chloe opened her closet forgetting the mountain of cloths in there until they fell out on top of her; cursing herself for a fool she threw the dirty cloths off herself and pulled out her best pants suit and showered and changed; walking back out into the main room she was about to set up her recorder and notepad when the door bell rang.

Rushing to the door to greet her own personal superhero, she flung open the door to her apartment only to find Lana Lang standing in her doorway. “Lana, this is a surprise; how did you know where I live?”

“I called the planet looking for you and a nice woman by the name of Alexis gave me the address.”

Nice woman? Alexis? Nice and woman were never terms that anyone who knew Alexis would describe her as, conniving ***** comes to mind; but, Chloe didn’t want to prejudice Lana against someone she had only just met so she kept her mouth shut. “Well, that was nice of her; come on in, what brings you by?”

“Well, I wanted to thank you for giving Clark my address and phone number and Alexis suggested that you might appreciate some Cappuccino so I brought you some from Starbucks.”

Lana had said the two words that made Chloe drool, Cappuccino and Starbucks; she thanked Lana profusely as she accepted the extra large cup and started drinking before they had even sat down; Chloe felt like she had ascended to heaven.

Chloe was so engrossed by her dose of caffeine that she had completely forgotten who was coming over; forgotten until she heard a rapping sound on her patio door and looked over to see the man in blue standing on her terrace; Lana looked at who was knocking and felt the color drain from her face as she hadn’t been this close to Superman since the day in the hospital.

“Oh God, Lana; I completely forgot to tell you, Superman was coming over to give me an exclusive interview.”

Lana was happy for Chloe, but she was even more thrilled for herself and hoped that Chloe wasn’t about to kick her out of her apartment. “Chloe, if I keep quiet may I stay for your interview?”

Chloe didn’t really want Lana to stay for the interview, she wanted Superman all to herself; but she also knew that was very selfish of her to do that to Lana, especially after Superman had just saved Lana’s life a few days ago. “As long as you don’t interject into the conversation you can stay, but if you start chatting it up with him I’ll have to ask you to leave, agreed?”

Lana quickly agreed to the terms that Chloe had outlined as she would get to see Superman again and also get the inside scoop before it had even hit the press. Chloe smiled at Lana before going to the door and sliding it open. “Welcome, Superman; I believe you already know Lana Lang, she wanted to stay for the interview, so I told her she could as long as she didn’t interrupt what we have to talk about.”

“It’s fine with me, Miss Sullivan.” Superman walked over and shook Lana’s hand, bending down to kiss the back of her hand in a very gentlemanly way, it made Lana blush and Chloe green with envy. “Always a pleasure, Lana.”

Superman seated himself in a chair across from the sofa, Chloe set up her tape recorder on the coffee table in front of him and retrieved her notepad from her desk with the notes she had made about what she wanted to ask him.

“Superman, my first question is the most obvious; what or who are you?”

The first question was both the easiest and the hardiest as far as Superman was concerned. “Well, I guess I’ll get the bombshell out of the way first, Chloe; I’m not from around here.”

Chloe thought she knew what he meant but she needed to get him to actually say it. “And by ‘not from around here’ you mean?”

“I mean I’m not from your planet, I wasn’t born on the planet earth.”

The color drained from both Lana and Chloe’s face, they both had considered this possibility but to actually have it confirmed was almost to overwhelming for them both.

“Okay, then where do you come from?”

“My home planet is in the Pegasus Galaxy, the original planet that I was born on was called Krypton.”

Another jaw dropping revelation almost left them both speechless, not just another planet but another Galaxy. “Why are you here? Will others be following you here from Krypton?”

“As for why I’m here, my father sent me here to be a beacon of justice to mankind; you see, the people of this world are at an evolutionary stage much as my people were several thousand years ago and my father wanted to help guide humanity into the type of race to lead by example to the rest of the galaxy; to guide humanity to their full potential. And as for more of my kind coming here, I’m afraid that is quite impossible.”

“Impossible, why is that?”

It’s was hard enough for Superman to think about this subject, let alone talk about; but he knew the people of earth needed to know that he wasn’t part of an invasion force. “Because, Krypton exploded some 500 of your years ago, I am the last of my kind.”

Chloe was having a hard time not only digesting that information but also understanding it. “Wait a minute; you say Krypton exploded 500 years ago? But, you don’t look a day over 24; just how old are you?”

Superman laughed softly at Chloe’s assumption and also at the intent way that Lana was staring at him; her beautiful brown eyes were making it hard for him to concentrate. “I’m not going to go into my exact age, Chloe; but I am under 30 years old, as to how that is possible that has to do with traveling faster than the speed of light in my space ship as an infant. In as simple of terms as I can make it, time passed normally for me while decades and centuries were passing here on earth; so a trip that would take me 5 years at the speed of light would mean 500 years here on earth.”

“You’re father sent you here as an infant knowing that you’d be alone? Without your own kind for guidance?”

“Yes, due to circumstances beyond his control; I am alone, but I am also happy to be on this planet alive and with the ability to help this world.”

Now, came an uncomfortable question; a hard question that had to be asked. “So, what do you say to the people who say you’re only here to conquer our world?”

“Chloe….”

Chloe silenced Lana with a glance and a raised hand to silence her; she looked back to Superman waiting for an answer to her question.

“That’s a fair question, Miss Sullivan; considering what I can do, but you see it’s just not in my makeup to try to conquer the people of earth. My people were people of high moral and ethical character; we believe in setting a moral example for the rest of the galaxy and choose to lead our lives as an example to how society should be run, but we can never force anyone to follow that example.”

“But, all we have is your word for that.”

“Yes, that’s all I have is my word; but, I think my actions speak for themselves, and for any being to be trusted he must first be given trust until he proves that he cannot be trusted.”

“That’s a very large leap of faith you’re asking considering what you can do; speaking of which, could you describe these special powers you seem to have?”

Superman was hoping that the really hard questions were past; he knew Chloe had to ask those but they were rather blunt and brutal in his opinion. “Well, let’s see; obviously, I can fly, I’m nearly invulnerable, my strength is such that I haven’t found its limit yet, I can project waves of intense heat from my eyes, and my breath can emit cold air to freeze water within seconds.”

Chloe just sat back in awe as did Lana; they both knew he had abilities but what he was describing could only be the power of a god. “Some people would describe that type of power as being as close to a god as a human could get.”

“I am no god, Miss Sullivan; I’m just a man with extraordinary abilities, nothing more.”

“Nothing more? I’d say that’s the understatement of the last thousand years, Superman; and speaking of your name, I highly doubt that your birth parents named you Superman.”

Superman was now getting uncomfortable; he didn’t like the direction that Chloe was going. “No, they didn’t name me that; the name just seemed to fit given my abilities on this world.”

“So, what was your given name at birth?”

“No comment.”

Chloe hadn’t been expecting that evasion; what harm could it be for people to know his real name? “Okay, are you married, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No comment.”

“Ah, nothing personal that your enemies can use against you?”

Superman nodded his head in affirmation of her assumption. “I won’t place my friends or family in jeopardy just so the public can satisfy their curiosity about me.”

“Well, how about this; do you have a weakness?”

“No comment.”

That led Chloe to believe that there was something that could hurt him; especially considering the missile crisis a few days ago. “You saved the city from a nuclear disaster a few days ago and then you were taken unconscious by what seemed like a military force. What happened to you?”

“I’m not sure of who it was who took me; when I woke up I was on a table strapped down with some Colonel interrogating me; I freed myself and everyone there vanished, I doubt very much the United States Military or any other government funded agency had anything to do with that incident.”

“In closing I was wondering if there is a message you would like to convey to the people of the planet earth.”

Superman thought long and hard about this last question. “Yes, tell the people of the world that they have nothing to fear from me; and tell the people who would break the law and harm the innocent that they should be afraid of me because I won’t let them harm the innocent; I’m here to shine the light of truth and justice in all the dark places of this world; it is time to come together and fight for the common good, we need to stop fighting as a race and learn to trust and help each other.”

Chloe thanked Superman and shook his hand; Lana did likewise but noticed something; there was something familiar about the way he smiled at her, she could have sworn that Clark had smiled at her in exactly the same fashion; she shook her head for seeing things that weren’t there, they were two different men weren’t they?

Chloe and Lana walked to the patio door and watched in awe as he launched himself into the air and vanished in the afternoon sky within seconds. “Wow.”

“You said a mouthful, Chloe.” Lana couldn’t wait to tell Clark about sitting in on this interview, she wondered what he had been up to this afternoon.

[Nemu]

to repeat what i said the first time ;)

Well that was nice... Glad Lana was sitting with them for the interview... and as well as starting to see past the persona...

Chloe is 'scaring' me a little...

[SVsleuth]

Wow, I didn't expect Lana to be there for the interview. Interesting that she is beginning to notice a similarity between Clark & Superman. As an artist, I'd think she may tend to pick up on things that others wouldn't. Plus, I'm sure Clark has a special way of looking at Lana that is unique, & it comes across to her even when he's Superman. Cool.

I guess Chloe had to ask the hard questions. It seems she could have been a little more delicate in the way she asked them, though. She was so blunt. But, at least those questions are all past now.

Now Lana will have a lot to mull over when she learns that Clark = Superman. He's from another galaxy? It's got to feel strange to find out you're falling in love with an alien. Can't wait for more - though I did get a double treat today, since I missed last Sunday.

Thanks for the update, Brian. Looking forward to more. :)

[NYC300Z]

Cathing up just read two chapters! (7)

[zeba-el]

chloe obviously doesn't hesitate about getting straight to the point. Thanks for the great update

[The Black Cat]

That was very good!! PPMS!

[NYC300Z]

Just put a few more chapters under my belt! (10)

[treker]

Chapter 13

“Clark”


As Chloe and Lana looked to the sky trying to see where Superman had flown too, there was a knock on her apartment door; walking over to the door, Chloe opened it and found Clark smiling back at her. “Perry, said you had your top secret interview with Superman tonight; so, I was hoping you’d let me sit in on it so I could meet the big guy.”

Chloe started laughing hysterically. “Clark Kent, you have to have the worst timing in the news business; you just missed him.”

“I did? Darn, that sucks!” Clark thought he might actually have won an academy award for the performance he was giving, but coming back to Chloe’s apartment as Clark Kent actually had two purposes. One was to establish Clark Kent and Superman as two separate identities so that Chloe wouldn’t become suspicious and two was so he could come back and talk to Lana; seeing her he waved and was delighted to see how enthusiastically she waved back.

“Hi, Clark; I was just wondering what you were up too.”

“Well, timing is everything isn’t it?” Clark watched as Chloe made a beeline for her desk and her laptop and started pounding on the keys almost at Super Speed; Clark saw this as an opportunity. “Listen, Lana; Chloe will probably be working on her article most of the night, so what do you say to an early dinner?”

Clark was rewarded with a smile on Lana’s face that could have lit up the whole city. “I think that’s a fantastic idea; and I know just the place. Thanks for letting me sit in on the interview, Chloe.”

Chloe just grunted and waved in a way that said ‘thanks but go away I’m busy’; Clark and Lana left and closed Chloe’s door leaving her alone with her thoughts, Clark extended his arm which caused Lana to wrap her own arm around it, Lana was deeply touched at Clark’s chivalry; something that was deeply lacking in most of the current male population.

“So, where are we going, Lana?”

“It’s a surprise, Clark; but don’t worry, I know you’ll love it.”


Lex stormed thru his mansion in a fit of rage; the modifications to Lana’s new home were taking entirely too long for his taste, that probably had something to do with Clark Kent. What concerned Lex more than anything was the fact that this Kent buffoon was a reporter and when he took Lana to her new home he would use his resources at the Planet and bring some uncomfortable pressure on himself that he didn’t need right now.

What he had to do was come up with a plausible reason for Lana to disappear to throw Kent off the scent; and maybe Prometheus was just the bait to lure Clark Kent away from the object of Lex’s desire? Lex thought to himself that if he put out false leads to what Prometheus was that he wouldn’t be able to pass it by and that would leave Lana vulnerable and unprotected.

Lex entered his study and walked over to his bar and poured a scotch which he downed in one large gulp, he gasped at its strength and then poured another glassful; this one he sipped slowly as he walked over to his fireplace. His thoughts were extremely dark and brooding, as capturing Lana was a personal matter; but Superman was all about business and his plans for the future.

If his overall plan was to succeed he needed Superman on his side, whether that cooperation was voluntary or not was completely beside the issue; what really mattered was getting him under some form of control and using him to achieve his end game which would ultimately bring Lex more power than any man had ever achieved before. Even more power than his philanthropist father had ever dreamed of.

Lionel Luthor had never forgiven Lex for stealing the company he started out from under him, and Lex could care less if he ever did; Lionel wore the white hat in the family and Lex had always viewed himself as the villain of their story, and he liked it that way.

“Mr. Luthor?” Lex turned and was surprised to see the foreman who was overseeing the construction of Lana’s new home. “Yes, what is it?”

“I just wanted to give you an update on the status of the project, the room will be finished within 48 hours, sir.”

As Lex turned by his fireplace he started to smile slightly. “That’s very fast work.”

“Well, offering a bonus of $100,000 was more than incentive enough to get the job done sir.”

“Yes, I imagine it was; well, back to work and thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Luthor.”

Turning back to the fireplace Lex’s innocent smile turned sadistic and evil; “48 hours and Lana’s new home will be ready, and then she’ll be all mine, body and soul.” Lex threw back his head and laughed in a way that filled the study and turned the blood of anyone who heard it into ice water.


Clark was still at a loss to figure out where Lana was taking him, but he didn’t really care since the place they were going didn’t really matter to him; all that mattered was that he was with Lana and he realized that he couldn’t remember a time when he had been this happy before, maybe Jor-el was wrong; maybe he didn’t have to walk his path alone.

“You told me about your parents, Clark; but what about growing up? Did you have any close friends?”

Clark thought back to his childhood and only one name came to mind. “No, not really; I was very shy growing up and the object of teasing and ridicule which only made me crawl into a shell that I rarely came out of.”

“That sounds so sad.”

They continued walking down the path in the city park, it had turned to night a short while earlier and the harvest moon was rising over the shadow of the lake as the stars twinkled in the backdrop. “It really isn’t anything to be sad about, Lana; I was adopted by a wonderful family and I don’t think they could have loved me any more than if I had been their biological son.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you had been adopted; do you have any memory of your birth parents?”

In truth, Clark didn’t have any childhood memories of Jor-el or Lara-el since he had been an infant when his spaceship had blasted off of the planet Krypton all those centuries ago, and he was only partially lying by saying he had no memories even if he had seen holographic pictures of his mother and father.

“No, I was a toddler when the Kent’s adopted me; I never did find out who my parents were because no one knew; I was left on the steps of the local church with a note asking the local authorities to find me a good home; it just so happened that Jonathan and Martha Kent were the ones who found me on those church steps and since they couldn’t have children of their own, it all seemed to work out for the best.”

Lana and Clark came to stop by the dock on the lake, where there was a small rowboat waiting for them; Clark smiled at the thought of rowing out into the lake with Lana and a perfect evening and continuing their conversation; 15 minutes later they were enjoying a bottle of wine as Clark rowed them across the lake.

“I have no regrets, Lana; despite being shy, I was raised by the kindest, most honorable man I’ve ever known; everything I am today is because of Jonathan and Martha Kent. They taught me how to Love and trust, they taught me what was right and what was wrong; they set the perfect example of how to be a good neighbor and friend.”

Lana looked deep into Clark’s eyes and saw that he was being honest, there was no deception in his eyes; and Lana realized that she envied his life, the certainty of who he was and where he was going; she hoped that some of that stability could rub off on her and transform her own life.

“And what about your parent’s, Lana; haven’t they had the same effect on your own life?”

When Lana thought of her father she could say without a doubt that he had the same influence on her life as Clark’s parents did on his; but, when it came to her mother, it was a completely different story altogether. “Well, my father is my personal hero; he taught me more about being a good and caring person than I ever thought I could have learned in one lifetime.”

“And your mother, what was she like?”

“My mother, she would rather be out shopping than raising a family; and she never thought my dad made enough money for her extracurricular activities; and she was never supportive of my art, she thought it was a waste of time and I should look into more lucrative professions.”

It saddened Clark to hear how unsupportive Lana’s mother was of her career choice. “Is that one of the reasons why you studied in Paris?”

“Actually, it was; my dad didn’t like it but he understood what an opportunity it was for me to learn my craft in Paris; and while my dad visited me on a regular basis, my mother neither visited nor called me the entire time I was in Paris.”

Clark could scarcely conceive of a parent cutting off a child like that. “I’m sorry for that, Lana; it must have been difficult.”

Lana just shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it prepared me for life’s little disappointments; life isn’t always a bowl of cherries, as I’m sure you know.”

Clark knew all about life’s little pitfalls, having his parents die in his arms and then spending the next 12 years in a crystal chamber was more than enough proof of how fast a person’s life could swing from joy to the 9th ring of hell.

“Lana, I’ve really enjoyed spending the evening with you and I don’t want it to be a total downer considering the tone the conversation has taken, but I was wondering what happened to you in Paris that made you distrust men so much?”

Lana had been afraid that Clark would ask her this question; but he had shared the death of his parents with her; could she do any less than share her pain with him?

“Okay, his name was Jon Paul; we met in Paris and for a few weeks he was a very caring and respectful boyfriend.”

“What happened to change that?”

[SVsleuth]

Grr.... stopping in the middle of a conversation is just mean, Brian.... Surely you could have gone on a bit longer...?

Well, I'm glad Clark tried to throw Chloe off, but I don't want him lying to Lana. And whatever Lex is doing messing with Lana's house is making me nervous. He's so sick. I hope Clark doesn't fall for Lex's diversions & leave Lana unprotected.

PPMS!

[Nemu]

Please tell me that what happened to Lana with Jon Paul wasn't a rape... or attempted rape.. now that would suck... that the jerk cheated on her would be enough i guess... (ok i do know what happened but this still holds true ;))

beside that... Baldy sure is a creep... and I hope that his plan to kidnap Lana will turn bad for him... as well as his plan to control Supes...

And even if he gets Lana... he wont have her body and soul... Lana would die first I think...

[zeba-el]

What did John Paul do gah cliffys suck. Great update Thanks!

[treker]

Grr.... stopping in the middle of a conversation is just mean, Brian....

PPMS!

It's not mean...it's dramatic!!! ;)

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----


Surely you could have gone on a bit longer...?

PPMS!

Yeah, but where's the fun in that??? :rotfl:

[Nemu]

LOL :rotfl:

[NYC300Z]

(11)

[treker]

Chapter 14

“Jon Paul”

Chloe walked into Perry White’s office at close to 9PM; she knew he would still be there as he rarely went home before 10PM on any given day of the week. It was one of the reasons that he was the best editor in the country, it was also the reason that he was divorced; because his wife couldn’t stand to come in second place to Perry’s mistress, which just happened to be the Daily Planet.

Perry looked up from his desk with a cigar in the side of his mouth; there was so much cigar smoke in the room that Chloe thought she was in some private poker room. “Sullivan, what in the name of all that’s holy are you doing here at this time of night?”

In response, Chloe just threw her zip drive on Perry’s desk and plopped herself down in the nearest chair and put her feet up on his desk. “You owe me a raise!”

Perry picked up the zip drive and stared at Chloe, realization dawning on him as if a ton of bricks hit him on the head. “Is this what I think it is?”

“You bet your ass it is.”

Perry wasted little time in plugging the zip drive into his lap top and started reading; he said nothing for several long minutes before looking over at his star reporter. “I think I owe you a damn site more than a raise; you’ve pulled off the greatest interview in the last 100 years Sullivan; good job.”

Chloe didn’t often get praise from Perry White; she felt like she was floating in the clouds and she never wanted to ever come down from this feeling, then a thought occurred to her; why does it have to end? Why not a follow up interview? Chloe continued to contemplate her plan as she tapped the side of her temple with her finger, a devilish smile playing across her face.


As Chloe was having her meeting with Perry, Clark and Lana were still rowing across the lake on their date; however, their romantic evening had taken a serious turn as Clark had inquired about what had happened in Paris to turn her against men so much.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, Lana.”

Lana appreciated Clark’s willingness to back down and not pressure her about her past, it was one of the things that she was beginning to see in Clark that so endeared him to her, his thoughtfulness. “No, you deserve to know what happened; if this friendship is going to continue there must be no secrets between us.”

No secrets, Clark didn’t show it on his face; but he felt like a first rate ass. Here was Lana opening up to him about her past, and he was keeping the biggest secret in the world from her. But, he wasn’t ready to tell anyone his secret; not only for his protection but for theirs as well.

“It began shortly after I arrived in Paris; I told myself that I wouldn’t become involved with anyone because I was there to study art and to perfect my craft.”

“So, what changed?”

“It was Paris, the city of Lights and romance; and Jon Paul was very persistent and attentive.”

“Jon Paul?”

Lana paused, gathering her thoughts. “Yes, he was a writer, a Poet; and he was quite gifted in putting his thoughts on paper, especially when he was pursuing the women he wanted to bed.”

Clark was a little uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking, but he had opened this particular Pandora’s Box and so he had to see it through to the end. “So, you and he were….”

“Oh god no; I’ve never been with anyone in that way. So, Jon Paul had his women on the side; but, I never knew about any of them until this one night when I dropped by his apartment to surprise him; imagine my surprise when I found him in bed with 2 other women.”

Clark couldn’t perceive of how painful that must have been for Lana; but, it seemed out of context to him, as bad as that was it didn’t seem like something that would cause her to loose trust in all men. “Is that all that happened or was there something else?”

“Oh, there was more, much more; you see Jon Paul is not the type of man to take no for an answer. Now, if we had been intimate then he would have let me go without a second thought; but the fact that I wouldn’t have anything to do with him and the fact that he hadn’t had me yet was just something that he couldn’t tolerate.”

Clark reached over and took Lana’s hands in his. “Did he hurt you?”

“Not physically, but he became someone I didn’t even recognize; he began stalking me, everywhere I went he was there; he would stand outside my flat all night long, he would call all hours of the night and day and leave me threatening letters.”

“Couldn’t the police do anything about it?”

“They tried, but he was very clever in how he did it; no one ever saw him and he never signed any of the letters; but, it got to the point that I was jumping at the smallest noise, afraid that he was behind every corner waiting to grab me, I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Clark pulled Lana to his side of the boat and cradled her in his arms. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Lana felt protected in Clark’s arms, like nothing could ever harm her in his arms. “How did it end?”

“I set a trap for him, using myself as bait the police staked out my flat and video taped him dropping off a letter complete with a black rose.”

Clark pulled Lana closer as he stroked the back of her hair, his head laid on top of Lana’s as he closed his eyes, a single tear trickled down his face; he had never known that a man could be so cruel to such a beautiful woman. “I wish I would have known you then, so I could have helped you.”

Feeling the need to lighten the mood, Clark came up with the perfect solution. “Hey, I’m sure I saw a Baskin Robins Ice Cream shop by the dock; what do you say we treat ourselves?”

Lana lifted her head off of Clark’s shoulders and looked right up into his perfect eyes; she normally would have said no because Ice Cream was bad for her figure; but tonight, she was going to do anything to extend her evening with Clark Kent. “That sounds delightful.”

They were staring into each others eyes, their lips were mere inches away from each other; Clark wanted so much to kiss her but he knew he didn’t dare; not after what Lana had just told him about Jon Paul. Lana also wanted to kiss Clark more than anything, but she pulled back at the last minute; not wanting to wreck what they were building.

Clark rowed them back to the dock and helped Lana out of the boat; they strolled arm in arm to the Ice Cream shop where Lana Ordered a bowl of vanilla and strawberry cream cheese, while Clark had the Chocolate with fudge brownie. After eating their ice cream, Clark walked Lana out of the park and to their car.

On the ride home the conversation turned back to Clark as Lana was curious about what Clark was doing in his life. “Have you started your investigation of Lex?”

“Yes, I have; I even was able to get an interview with him.”

“Really and how did that go?”

The look on Clark’s face was all the verification she needed. “Well, let’s just say that it was brief and mostly pointless; although there was one important piece of information I got out of him; some special project that he denied being part of, but I could tell that he wasn’t happy that I was connecting him with it.”

Lana was very intrigued by Clark’s investigation of Lex Luthor, her reasoning was because Lex kept snooping around her and the more information she knew the better she could protect herself. “And what project is this?”

“I don’t know, all I have is a name; Prometheus.”

“Do you have any clue as to what it’s about?”

“I’m almost positive it has something to do with Superman.”

Clark was watching Lana to see what type of reaction she would give at the mention of his alter ego; he was surprised when her reaction was very uninterested, almost as if Superman was an after thought to her. “Do you think he’s trying to find a way to control Superman?”

“I’d bet my life on it.”

“Well, just be careful, Clark; I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt.”

Clark smiled at Lana, she looked up at him and blushed at his smile; she looked down to avoid his devastating smile. “You know, Clark; that smile of yours should be declared a lethal weapon.”

“Oh, you like my smile?”

In response she just swatted his arm. “As if you didn’t already know how women react when you look at them that way.”

“Well, I don’t look at all women that way, Lana; only select women get the smile.” Lana’s smile grew even wider at the compliment he was paying her. Before they even knew it, Clark pulled up to Lana’s house; Clark walked her up to her door and stood on the ground while she was up on the second step, this put them at eye level.

Reaching out and putting his arms around Lana he pulled her into a warm hug, Lana wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck; they both stayed that way for several minutes; when they separated they found themselves in a similar position as they were on the lake. Their faces where a mere inches away from each other and this time they didn’t hesitate, their lips touched and it was like a firestorm going off in the sky. They sucked on each others lips as their tongues played with each other.

After finally separating they looked into each other’s eyes and said their goodnights; Clark walked backwards down the sidewalk so he could watch Lana as he retreated to his car, Lana walked backwards up her steps so she could watch Clark as he walked to his car. They finally waved a last time before Lana opened her door and walked inside her house.

Clark got in his car and drove him, happier than he could ever remember being in his life; he now knew that Lana cared about him, Clark Kent, and not Superman. Lana also was happier than she could ever remember being, any thoughts of Superman had retreated to the back of her brain as Clark Kent now occupied all of her thoughts.

However, before so could walk more than 2 feet into her home; a hand grabbed her from behind and put a cloth over her mouth. She smelled chloroform and lost consciousness within seconds; the last thing she thought before blacking out was ‘Clark save me’.

The man holding Lana pulled out his cell phone and made a phone call. “We have her sir….”

************************************************** ************

Next Time on "When Hearts Collide"

Lana wakes up to find herself a prisoner.....

Clark discovers that Lana is missing.....

Clark's investigation into 'Prometheus' takes an unexpected turn......

[Nemu]

Basically Lex is another Jon Paul... now... I wonder how long it will take for Clark to fnd out Lana is missing for one... then to figure out it was Lex who got her... and then to save her...

did i mention i hate chloe? ;)

[SVsleuth]

Oh, no! Lana kidnapped after such a wonderful date?

Well, I'm glad Clark & Lana are opening up more to each other, & even shared a kiss. Lex is...Grrrrrr! I hope Clark/Superman rescues Lana quickly, before Lex can really harm her.

Thanks for the update.

[zeba-el]

Clark better save Lana before Lex has his way or Lana's trust in men will definitely be lost forever.

Thanks for the update.

[treker]

Chapter 15

“Prisoner”

Clark walked into the Daily Planet the next day feeling like he was walking on air; and being who he was he made sure that he looked down periodically just to make sure that he actually was walking on the floor and not floating across it. His date with Lana had been everything he had dreamed of and more, he now felt that his alter ego was not what Lana wanted, he really felt like she could be falling in love with him, with Clark Kent.

That one thought brought Clark back to reality as he entered the elevator and rode up to the top floor of the building; how could Lana be falling in love with Clark Kent, when Clark Kent was in fact a fraud. His name was Kal-el of Krypton, not Clark Kent of Kansas; but, could he take the chance in telling Lana who he really was? How would she react?

Clark was still in a fog when he sat down at his desk, Chloe hadn’t noticed the look on his face since she was still basking in the glory of her interview with Superman, she threw the morning edition of the banner in front of Clark, the headline read ‘Flying Hero Reveals Himself to the World’.

“Isn’t that headline a little too revealing, Chloe?”

Chloe’s jaw dropped open. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Clark.”

“Hey, I didn’t write the headline; I’m just reacting to it.”

Chloe just shook her head. “So, I take it that your date with Lana went well?”

Clark’s grin was all the confirmation that Chloe needed, she had never seen a man look so happy before. “You could say that, but there will be time for that later; right now I need to get back on my investigation of Lex Luthor and the mysterious Prometheus Project.”

“Prometheus, what is that supposed to be?”

Clark just looked up and sat back in his chair as he stared out the nearest window. “The answer to that question might very well be more elusive than your interview with Superman was, and it could very well tell us how Lex intends on trying to control Superman.”

“Control him, how?”

“I don’t know, but I do intend on finding out.” Because he couldn’t allow anyone to control Superman; his power was too great to have anyone of humanity to have the ability to control someone with his power. Picking up the phone he called Lana to let her know he’d be very busy today just incase she wanted to get together, however, there was no answer at either her home nor her cell phone, hanging up he thought that was odd but she could have just been painting and turned off her phone for privacy; he decided he’d call her later in the day and see if she’d like to get together later.


As Clark was busy trying to contact Lana, she was just fighting her way back to consciousness through a white haze of pain; her head was pounding to the rhythm of her heartbeat. At first she didn’t even realize that she wasn’t in her own home; that was until she noticed the curtains that encircled the bed she was in. It was of Victorian design with a mahogany wood headboard and satin sheets and more pillows than she had ever seen in her life.

As she looked around the room she knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore; well, maybe she was in Kansas, for she couldn’t see clearly out of the windows as the curtains were drawn. Throwing the covers off of her body she was shocked to see that she was wearing a night gown/teddy, something that was far more revealing than anything she would ever have dressed herself in; so the real question was how did she get here and who in the name of all that’s holy had dressed her? Sitting up in the bed she wrapped her arms around herself and started to shake violently, she felt defiled and wondered what had been done to her while she was unconscious? Was her virtue still intact?

Seeing a robe at the foot of the bed, she quickly put it on to cover her body and made her way over to the window; flinging open the drapes she looked out the window to see a country landscape laid out before her, however, there were no landmarks that she could identify, nothing to tell her where she was and what she was doing here? Lana pounded her fist on the glass, but it only caused her to flinch in pain as the glass not only refused to break, but it refused to even budge as most glass would have a tendency to flex in and out; upon further examination she saw there were multiple layers of some form of glass, she surmised that each layer provided addition support to the layer next to it, making it unbreakable.

Turning away from the glass, Lana looked around her room until she saw the camera in the far corner by the ceiling as it moved back and forth, tracking her every move. Realizing the state of her dress and the fact that someone was watching her caused her to find the nearest closet and search it for appropriate clothing. She gasped in shock as she saw that everything in the closet were the cloths from her home. ‘How long has this abduction been planed?’ she thought to herself. Someone had gone to an incredible amount of trouble to make sure that all her needs were met in this place, all of her needs except her freedom.

After dressing she walked over to the door and tried the door handle, unsurprisingly, it was locked; walking back over to the bed she sat down, crossed her arms and waited; it wasn’t long before the door opened and a woman followed by a man brought in a breakfast tray for her and placed it on a table for her.

“Where am I?” The woman looked at her and back to the man who motioned for her to leave immediately, the man started walking toward the door without a word before Lana blew up at him. “I SAID WHERE AM I, YOU BASTARD!!”

“You’ll be apprised of your status by my employer soon enough, until then I suggest that you get some rest and eat something; you might as well enjoy the surroundings miss since you’ll be spending the rest of your life here.”

Without another word the man left as Lana just watched the door close behind him, she heard several heavy latches engage after he left; she reasoned that she was in no ordinary room; unbreakable glass, heavy duty latching mechanism’s on the doors with security monitors. Someone had spent a small fortune to imprison her here.

Realizing that starving herself would gain her nothing, she went to the table; she sat and ate the meal provided and then explored her prison cell. As prisons went it was fairly luxurious, with all the comforts one could want (except for freedom to come and go), in another room she found a day room with glass ceiling and all the equipment that she would ever need to sculpt and paint; something was starting to bother her, because she knew of only one man who had shown something of an obsession with her and her art, and that person had the money and resources to make all this happen, she just prayed she was wrong.

“Is everything to your liking, Lana?”

Turning toward the sound of the voice she saw that her prayers had gone unanswered as Lex sat in a chair behind a desk in the far corner. “Lex Luthor, what the hell have you done?”


Clark had become more and more concerned as the day went along; he had tried several times to call Lana and continued to get her voicemail, he had left at least a dozen messages for her. He wasn’t ready to call it an emergency yet, but he was getting close.

But, at the moment he was at the local office for domestic security talking with the director there concerning Lex Luthor and a possible connection between Lex, Prometheus and Superman.

“….and further more, Mr. Kent; we’ve already launched our own investigation into this project Prometheus ourselves.”

This was welcome, if surprising news to Clark; if other agencies could be persuaded to apply pressure on Luthor then maybe something would shake loose in his own investigation. “What made you begin your investigation, director?”

“Luthor Industries, and by extension, Project Prometheus have employed a shocking number of ex-military personal as well as several very nasty mercenaries.”

“And I suppose the incident of Superman being taken by military personal that the government has no knowledge of, probably didn’t help matters any.”

The director just grimaced as Clark was stating the obvious. “Of course, because like yourself, we can’t allow any agency to gain control of a being as powerful as Superman; who knows what Superman would do if he had the backing of Lex Luthor, we could all be in grave danger.”

Clark, suddenly, sensed an undertone to the interview that disturbed him; it seemed that the government thought that he was intent on world conquest instead of ridding the world of evil. “Are you saying you think Superman is going to take over this country with the help of Prometheus?”

“Not just the US, Mr. Kent; we’re concerned about the whole world, a man with that much power at his fingertips; why wouldn’t he try to take over the world?”

“But, why would he do that?”

The director just looked at Clark as an adult would look at an innocent child. “Mr. Kent, power corrupts and absolute power creates a being capable of being the antichrist.”

Clark could see this man had already made up his mind and nothing he could say was going to change his mind, so he thanked him for his time and headed over toward Lana’s house. The interview had disturbed him greatly; how many other people in the government and military felt the same way as that director did?

As Clark pulled up to Lana’s house he sensed that something was wrong, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it except to say that the house looked unlived in; as if she hadn’t been home all day. As he walked up to the door he stopped at the steps and remembered the kiss they had shared the night before, Clark smiled at the memory and hoped that Lana felt the same way that he did.

Knocking on the door, Clark waited and waited for what seemed like forever; however, Lana never came to the door; Clark listened but heard nothing, not a sound was coming from her home. Becoming concerned Clark used his x-ray vision and gasped in shock, he couldn’t believe what his eyes were telling him; he forced the lock and entered the home only to find emptiness, no furniture, no paintings; running up the stairs he went to Lana’s bedroom and found the same thing, no bed, no clothes in the closet, the house was completely deserted.

There was no sign of a struggle, had he saw something in Lana that just wasn’t there? Thinking back to what she had told him of Jon Paul, he wondered if he had pressed her too hard after everything she had been through with Jon Paul?

Clark walked back to the front door, turning back and taking one final look at the home of someone that he thought he had known, but maybe he hadn’t really known her at all. Closing the door he walked back out to his car with a heavy heart and accepted the reality that he was destined to walk his path alone; just as Jor-el had told him he would…….


Lana just looked at Lex as a white hot rage built up inside her and threatened to explode as he just sat there with a smug look on his face. “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, LUTHOR?”

“My dear, you really must learn to control your temper.”

Lex was being very condescending toward her and it only made her angrier. “WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TELL ME ANYTHING? YOU’VE KIDNAPPED ME AND IMPRISONED ME AGAINST MY WILL.”

Lex rose from behind the desk and walked around until he stood mere inches from Lana. “Hear me now, Lana Lang; you need to accept your situation because you now belong to me, body and soul and you’re never going to leave this room for as long as you live….”

************************************************** ****

Next time on "When Hearts Collide".....

Lex Solidifies his hold on Lana.....

Clark dives deeper into his investigation of Prometheus...

[Nemu]

Clark appears of giving up....

I wonder what will make him restart the search...

Oh and Lex is a perverted bald creep...

also... i dont think your "Next Time..." bits will be that much appreciated ;) (you did get a lot of complaints on those before lol)

and I am waiting for the next chapter...

[zeba-el]

also... i dont think your "Next Time..." bits will be that much appreciated ;) (you did get a lot of complaints on those before lol)


I like the next time thing. And wow has clark given up easy does he really think Lana would move house after she spent weeks decorating it just because he asked about what some guy did to her in college.

Chrome dome seriously has more issues than usual in this fic clark better go into superman mode soon.

Great update!

[treker]

I like the next time thing. And wow has clark given up easyGreat update!


Why thank you....

And don't give up on Clark just yet...he may surprise you.

[SVsleuth]

Clark better not give up on Lana. I hope he realizes soon that she has been kidnapped. Poor Lana, stuck there with Lex. Ugh!

PPMS!

[Nemu]

lol funny how the comments will do a 180 soon...

[treker]

Chapter 16

“Hope”

Lex stood leering at Lana with unbridled Lust; Lana could see what he wanted and was disgusted by it, a rage was building up inside her until she could contain it no longer; her rage found its expression in the form of a resounding slap across Lex’s face. The slap was so hard that it sprained Lana’s wrist and sent Lex flying backwards toward his desk.

As Lana rubbed her wrist, Lex turned back toward her with unbridled rage in his eyes. “That was a mistake, Lana!” Lex picked up the glass on his desk and hurled it at Lana’s head, fortunately for her it smashed against the wall mere inches from her skull.

“Try that again, Lana; and next time that glass won’t miss!”

Lana backed up against the wall trying to put as much space as possible between her and Lex; Lex walked up to her and placed his hands on either side of her head as he leaned closer until she could feel his breath on her face. “You’re mine, Lana; I’ve spend a small fortune making this living area for you escape proof, so don’t even think that you have any hope of getting out of here. It will take time, but I know you’ll come to love me as I love you; and I’m a very patient man.”

Lana didn’t want to do anything to antagonize Lex any further than he already was but she also knew that she had to convince him that this course of action was pointless. “You can keep me locked up here until I die of old age and I’ll still never love you; just let me go, Lex. I promise not to file any charges; nothing bad has to come of this if you just let me go.”

“I’ll send someone in too look at her wrist; you should be more careful since you wouldn’t be able to paint with an injured wrist.” Lex turned and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him as he left.

Lana continued to rub her wrist and wondered what it was about her that caused men to act like utter fools; first Jon Paul and now Lex Luthor. Lana looked to the ceiling and through the skylight there to the empty sky, she wished with all her heart that Superman would fly overhead and come to her rescue; but she knew that it was a futile hope, no one even knew she was missing left alone kidnapped against her will.

Thinking back to last night just before she was abducted, she thought of Clark and what he must be thinking? Would he realize that she was in trouble or would he think that she had abandoned him? She hoped that he would use his investigative skills and realize what was happening, but she also knew that if Lex had planned this out to the degree he had that he also had set into motion events which may very well cause Clark to think she had left him without so much as a goodbye….


Clark walked to his car door as he opened it he stopped; something just wasn’t right to him, why would Lana just pack everything up and leave without so much as a goodbye? And especially after the great night they had on their date.

Turning back toward the house he reentered the house and used his heightened senses to search Lana’s home as he searched for clue’s as to what could have possible happened to her. As he walked from room to room he wasn’t finding anything out of the ordinary aside from an unfurnished home; which was strange in itself since he found it inconceivable that Lana would move out in mass so quickly.

That was when his hearing picked up the one thing that was out of place; he detected a high pitched whistle that was inaudible to a normal human being, but he was far from normal. Seeking out the source of the sound he x-rayed the walls until he found several hidden camera’s observing his every move; that convinced him that Lana was in danger, why would anyone install hidden cameras in a deserted home unless they were trying to monitor whomever would come looking for Lana.

While observing the cameras a terrible thought came to Clark; maybe those cameras were not intended to observe Lana, but to gauge his reaction to her disappearance. More and more he was becoming convinced that Lana hadn’t left of her own choice; and whoever took her wanted to make sure that no one suspected that she had been kidnapped. The real question in his mind was who would want to kidnap Lana? It would have to be someone with the resources to pull off such a plan and the only person he could think of who would want to harm Lana was Jon Paul, did he have the resources to do this?

Leaving Lana’s home, Clark called Perry and told him he’d be out of town a few days checking up on some leads regarding his investigation into Lex; Perry was rather gruff about his up and coming reporter disappearing but eventually gave in; he understood that this was sometimes necessary in the pursuit of a headline.

Not wanting to take any chances that the outside was also being watched, Clark drove away and went back to his apartment before changing back into Superman and taking to the skies once again. He flew at supersonic speed until he reached Paris and landed on the steps of the police station that Lana had told him had handled the affair with Jon Paul.

There was a near riot as he walked into the small station, in retrospect he thought that maybe it might have been a better idea to change back into Clark Kent before walking into the station; but Superman was more likely to get cooperation than Clark Kent was and he had been right about the officer’s reaction to his presence.

Finding the constable who arrested Jon Paul, Superman began asking questions. “Excuse me, I was wondering if you might be able to help me; I have questions about a case you handled.”

“Yes, Miser Superman; what case would that be?”

“There was a young art student, an American young woman, by the name of Lana Lang; she was being stalked by someone named Jon Paul; do you recall the case?”

“Ah, yes, how could I ever forget; Jon Paul LeVeque, he is the son of our Prime Minister.”

Lana hadn’t mentioned that the boy was so well connected. “I understand he was arrested and convicted of stalking Miss Lang; would it be possible to talk to him?”

“What is this about, Miser Superman?”

“Miss Lang has gone missing, and I wanted to question him about any knowledge he might have in the case.”

The inspector became very somber. “I wish you could question the young man, but you see the disgrace of what he had done was too much for him; he committed suicide 6 months ago.”

Superman was shocked, dead for 6 months; that meant that it would be impossible for him to be involved in Lana’s disappearance. “I’m very sorry to hear that; thank you for taking the time to talk with me.”

Superman left the station to find a crowd still waiting for him outside, but he knew he couldn’t take the time to acknowledge the crowd since there was still a mystery to be solved; Lana was still missing and his only clue had just gone up in smoke. Pushing his speed faster than he had yet traveled he was back in Metropolis in half the time it took him to get to Paris; he flew to the art gallery and changed into Clark Kent in the back alley, as he came around to the front he found Chloe coming out of the gallery.

“Hey, Chloe; what are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey Clark; I was just stopping by to see some of the art that your friend Lana had created but it’s all been sold.”

That one simple statement was like a kick in the head to Clark; how could he have been so stupid? There’s only one man he knew of who had the resources to pull off making Lana disappear like she had, and he also had purchased Lana’s entire art collection on the night of her show.

“Lana’s disappeared, Chloe.”

“Disappeared? What do you mean by disappeared?”

“I stopped by her home and it’s been cleaned out; not a stick of furniture left in the place, however, I did find some fairly sophisticated surveillance equipment that just happened to be left behind.”

Chloe leaned up against the side of the building as a cold shiver ran up her spine. “You know, first Superman is taken away unconscious and now Lana disappears without a word; and all signs point to short, bald and creepy being behind it all.”

Clark didn’t want to believe what he was thinking, but the evidence was becoming overwhelming; but he couldn’t just storm into Luthor Corp and accuse Lex of kidnapping Lana, he’d just deny everything. “Has Lex always lived here in Metropolis?”

Chloe had done many articles about Lex herself and searched her memory from her research. “Mostly, but I believe he does have an estate just outside Smallville.”

Clark’s eyebrows shot up his head. “I grew up in Smallville and there’s never been any type of estate there before.”

“It’s fairly recent; I believe he had this ancient Scottish castle brought over from overseas about 5 years ago; and he doesn’t allow any visitor’s to even approach the place let alone actually come inside.”

Clark thought it over as the pieces started to add up; what better place to keep Lana than an estate that no one went too and few even knew existed. And with his money the security there was probably tighter than Fort Knox, which meant that going there in the form of Clark Kent was probably not a good idea; Superman, however, was another matter all together.

“Chloe, do you have anybody you can trust at the FBI?”

“Trust as in……”

“Someone who will take you words on faith without a lot of explanation or evidence needed?”

Chloe could see where Clark was going and knew that it would be a big favor indeed for what he had in mind. “Do you have any idea how big of a deal it would be to get the feds to storm that estate with no evidence to back it up?”

“I know, but you also know that if Lex gets any idea that they’re coming that he’ll move her to someplace where we’ll never find her again.”

“That’s assuming he even has her to begin with.”

“Chloe, I feel it in my soul; I know she’s there.”

Chloe just stood there tapping her shoe, she just closed her eyes and shook her head because she knew she’d use up every favor she had saved up if she did this. “You’d better be right about this, Clark.”

“I am, trust me.”

Chloe pulled out her cell and started walking away as she put Clark’s plan into motion; that being done he ducked down the alley and changed back into Superman; he took to the sky and made a beeline for Smallville and Lex’s estate.

************************************************** ****

Next time on When Hearts Collide.....

Memories of the past haunt Clark.....

Lana fills her day with her art.....

Superman Heads for Luthor Mansion....

[Nemu]

Clark figured it out somehow so now we have to find out how he will help the FBI to beat up Baldy...

[SVsleuth]

Hmm.... Memories of the past haunt Clark? That part intrigues me... Looking fwd to next week.

I hope Superman's plan works. Baldy needs to be locked away for good. He's insane! And Lana needs to be free to be with Clark and Superman, & to find out they are the same person.

PPMS! (I wish we didn't have to wait anotherwhole week!)

[NYC300Z]

I'm always behind just can't seem to catch up....but i'm trying...just read three more chapters. Your story has a very different style. I'll be catching up again more soon!

[zeba-el]

"Memories of the past haunt Clark" That’s got me puzzled I can only guess it must be something to do with his parents dieing when their car blew up.

I hope clark/supes rescue Lana soon before baldy goes even further.

PPMS!!

[treker]

I'm always behind just can't seem to catch up....but i'm trying...just read three more chapters. Your story has a very different style. I'll be catching up again more soon!


Thanks, yeah it is a little bit different for me style wise. But, I'm enjoying writing it....I just wish more people were reading it. I guess everyone has given up on K-site since the show is ending soon. A pity, there are still so many great stories to tell.

Thanks for reading and commenting....I do appreciate it!!!

[NYC300Z]

Just put another one down....Clark had better save Lana....and Lex needs to get it bad!

[NYC300Z]

I'm all caught up....I hope they can catch Lex red handed....I bet he'll get his lawyers to get him out of it, but at least it will save Chloe's rep..


PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Awesome chapters!!! Can't wait for more!!!

[SVsleuth]

I beat you here, Brian? Darn! PPMS!

[treker]

Chapter 17


“To Save The Lady”

After leaving Chloe at the Gallery, Clark flew to the outskirts of Smallville and landed in the woods just outside the farm where he grew up; he knew he would have no trouble rescuing Lana from Luthor’s mansion (that is assuming he was right). But, the one thing he wasn’t certain of was if it was safe for him to actually storm the castle as it were; he hadn’t been back to Smallville since his parents death and he wasn’t certain of the level of Kryptonite contamination in and around the small town, and Chloe had said that even if the FBI will come it could be several hours before anything happens and timing would be critical.

Clark changed back into his civilian self and walked out of the woods and came upon a sight that was both pleasant and painful all at the same time; the old Kent Farmland was a place of joyous memories and unresolved pain. His adoptive parents met their end far sooner than they should have; but then, what son or daughter is really prepared to face the mortality of the people who raised them?

He noticed that the place looked in remarkably good shape, which pleased Clark that his family’s legacy of farming and family values was being continued by another family; maybe they had a son who was experiencing the same joy that he had at working the land and having the family life that was every boy’s dream; seeing his old home caused his mind to flashback to the last time he had been here with his parents….the last time he had seen them alive.

************** Flashback ************************

“Clark get a move on will ya!”

Clark came running out of the house pulling on his shirt as he went; Martha and Jonathan just laughed as their teenage son came running up to the truck. “You know you could have used your super speed to dress and get out here so we wouldn’t be late.”

“Yeah, Dad; but you asked me to stop doing that.”

“I know, I’m just surprised you actually started doing what I tell you.”

Martha elbowed Jonathan in the side of his ribs. “Stop teasing, Jonathan; now should we get going before we miss the entire auction?”

Clark jumped into the back of the truck. “Clark, aren’t you going to ride with us in the cab?”

“And have my delicate eyes subjected to you two acting like love struck teenagers? No thanks!”

Jonathan threw his jacket at Clark who used his super speed to cause the jacket to miss his head; both Clark and the Kent’s laughed as they enjoyed the easy banter of their family. Clark stayed in the bed as Jonathan and Martha climbed into the cab of the truck and started the short drive into town. Clark enjoyed the wind as it blew into his face, he could have easily run into town and beat his parents to the auction, but he was enjoying the time he spent with his parents, nothing gave him more joy than times like these…….

******************** End Flashback ********************************

Tears easily rolled down Clark’s face as he watched the farm, he was conflicted as he wished his feelings were more resolved around the death of his parents; but at the same time he wouldn’t give up his memories of growing up here for anything in the world.

He desperately wanted to approach the house and meet the people who were living there; but that would require a lengthy explanation and the probable invitation to lunch and a long conversation was just not something that he had time for, not with Lana’s life at stake.

Clark left the farm and walked into town; after a brief tour of the small Kansas farming community he looked up the location of Lex’s Mansion and made his way there; all the while being ever observant looking for any sign of pain or weakness which would signal the presence of Kryptonite in the general vicinity, but he felt nothing to indicate that any of the deadly mineral was anywhere around.

Finally, Clark found himself standing in the woods just outside Luthor Mansion; looking up at the monstrosity he couldn’t help but be repulsed by the structure. Clark thought it looked strangely like the old Dracula castle that he had read about as a young boy; which he figured would suit a blood sucker like Lex Luthor, changing back into his Superman guise, Clark started to use his x-ray vision as he searched the vast structure for any trace of Lana.

----------< Lana’s Room >-------------

Try as she might, Lana just couldn’t paint; Lex had been pressuring her to paint his portrait but all motivation to dive into her craft had been lost to her the day Lex had kidnapped her. The only positive part of her day was that Lex had stopped dropping by to coax her into submitting to his whims since she threw whatever heavy object was at hand directly at his head; the last such object came within inches of cracking his skull.

Lana’s nerves were so raw that she thought she’d have a nervous breakdown at any minute; pacing back and forth in front of her canvas she picked up her brush and started to paint without thinking; she just let her mind flow in hopes that something cheerful would materialize on the canvas to brighten her day.

Stepping back from the painting she saw the outline of a man in a blue business suit writing on a notepad; he looked vaguely like Clark Kent, but the face looked like Superman. Lana folded her arms and studied the painting wondering why in the world she would paint such a thing? Maybe, she reasoned, she was longing for Clark and hoping for Superman to rescue her, maybe that’s why her subconscious merged the two into one man.

Looking to the skylight and the sky overhead, she wished for the millionth time that someone in red and blue tights would swoop down and take her away from this nightmare that her life had devolved into; she also worried about Clark, how was he reacting to her sudden disappearance? Did he believe she had just vanished into thin air or had walked out of his life on purpose?

---------< Daily Planet >-----------

Chloe had been on the phone with the FBI for the better part of an hour before she started to get results; she finally talked to a friend of hers that she went to college with and called in a favor that he owed her. “Listen, Karl; if it hadn’t been for me you never would have made it out of college and then where would your marvelous career as a Federal Agent be then? Just trust me, this is reliable information and the woman in question is in grave danger.”

Chloe finally got off the phone with her friend with assurances that a team would be in Smallville within the hour since they were already conducting a training exercise just 10 miles outside of Smallville anyway.

Finally, Chloe grabbed a photographer and headed to the roof and the waiting helicopter that was waiting there for her; she had been waiting for years to get the goods on Lex Luthor and her reporters nose finally smelled the opportunity to not only embarrass him, but too also see to it that his slimy carcass ended up in a 7x7 jail cell for the next 20 to 30 years in a prison cell with a bunk mate named bubba who hasn’t seen a woman in 10 years.

She was halfway to Smallville when Clark had walked up to the outside of Luthor Mansion….

---------< Luthor Mansion >------------

Clark continued looking into the mansion room by room, inch by inch trying to locate Lana; he was beginning to think that he had been mistaken that Lana was here until he found her standing in a room crying into her hands as she stood in front of a canvas painting; Clark smiled in relief that he had not only found her but that she was safe.

Before springing into action, he scanned the rest of the mansion; but Lex was nowhere to be found, Clark grinded his teeth in frustration. He had wanted to catch Luthor with the goods as it were; but to Clark’s ever regret; Lex wasn’t home.

But, Lex was a secondary issue to Clark at the moment; Lana’s safety had to take priority and he had detected speeding cars coming up the driveway; changing instantly into Superman he greeted the approaching agents as they skidded to a halt in front of Luthor Mansion.

“Superman, what are you doing here?”

“Helping out a friend; and you are?”

“Smith, Agent Smith.”

Superman extended his hand and shook each of the agent’s hands. “I’ve located the subject being held in the far wing, she seems to be fine but with your permission I’d like to fly thru the skylight and secure her while you storm in the front door to minimize the risk to her safety.”

The agents thought about the legality of it since they technically didn’t a warrant to enter the property; that is until Superman suggested that they saw him diving thru the skylight of the Luthor Mansion and they felt he was in danger and broke in to protect the occupants from what they perceived to be a threat to their safety.

With everyone in agreement to the plan of action, Superman took to the sky just as Chloe’s news helicopter approached and saw him dive thru the skylight; Lana screamed and covered her head as supposedly unbreakable glass came tumbling down around her.

Lana spun around and looked up and up and up until she saw the handsome face of Superman smiling back at her. “Now, what’s a lovely artist like yourself doing in this ugly monastery?”

Lana screamed in delight and lunched herself into his arms; Superman wrapped his arms around her and held her close, Lana’s pent up tears started to flow down her face as she cried into his chest. “It’s okay, Lana; no one’s going to hurt you anymore.”

Wrapping his arm around her, Superman walked with her over to the door; he ripped the door off its hinges and walked with her down the hallway until several armed guards came running toward them. Pushing Lana behind him, Superman used his heat vision and fried their weapons; that was when they made the mistake of rushing him, he knocked them all unconscious with one swat of his arm.

Lana looked at her hero in amazement; despite everything she knew he could do she was still amazed seeing him swat 3 armed security guards aside as if they were paper dolls. As they ran down the stairs she kept looking from side to side expecting Lex to jump out from the shadows and force her back up into that prison he had constructed for her.

Superman noticed that she was looking around like a scared rabbit expecting to be squashed at any second. “Lana, it’s okay; Lex isn’t here.”

Lana jumped at the sound of his voice and what he said. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, Lana; I’ve searched the entire mansion and he isn’t here.”

Lana was visibly relieved to hear that Lex wasn’t here; then something else occurred to her. “How did you find me, Superman?”

Lana noticed that he bowed his head as if he were ashamed of something. “Well, I didn’t know you were missing until Clark Kent asked for my help.”

“Clark was looking for me?” Superman heard the hope in her voice which just made him feel even more guilty for lying to her; he wished he could tell her that he was Clark, but he wasn’t sure how she would react to the news that he had been lying to her all this time.

“Yes, he seemed to be most concerned about you; it seemed as though you had moved away from Metropolis overnight without so much as a word, which didn’t make sense to him. He investigated further, and the more he looked into it the less sense it made until you factored in Lex’s obsession with you.”

Superman could see Lana becoming enraged now that the fear had passed; she wanted revenge for her imprisonment. The lead FBI agent approached them and pulled Lana off to the side to get her statement on what had happened to her. “Go with them, Lana; they’ll see you safely back home to Metropolis, I have somewhere I need to be now.”

Lana watched Superman as he turned and took to the sky, she reached up to the sky wanting to stop him, but he was already gone. Chloe ran up to them cursing herself because the field agents had kept her at the gates for too long and now she had missed another opportunity to interview Superman.

“Lana, are you okay?”

Lana just turned to her with sad eyes. “I don’t know, Chloe; I don’t know if I’ll ever be alright ever again….”

---------< Smallville Cemetery >----------

Superman landed at the cemetery where his parents were buried; he changed back into Clark and slowly walked through the graveyard until he found their headstone. Clark kneeled down on both knees and looked at the words etched in the stone; Jonathan and Martha Kent – Beloved Parents of Clark.

Clark bowed his head and reached up and touched the stone as the tears started coming down his face. “I don’t know if I can keep doing this mom, dad. Someone has become very important to me but I keep lying to her. It seems I’m always lying to her anymore; how can I even think of taking the next step with her when she doesn’t even know what she’s getting into?”

Silence greeted Clark as he continued to talk; he laughed at himself for even thinking he’d get a response from people that had been dead for over 12 years, but then he could talk to Jor-el who had been dead for many centuries so why was this any different. He wondered what a shrink would say about the symbolism of that?

“I guess the real question I need answered is if I can trust her with who I am?” Silence greeted him yet again. “Yes, that is the real question and I wish I knew what to do; if you can hear me always know that I’ll always love you.” Rising from the grave he changed back into Superman and took to the sky; maybe the fresh air of the flight back to Metropolis would give him the answers he seeked.

************************************************** *******

Next time on When Hearts Collide......

Lana discover's Clark's role in her rescue.....

The FBI find Lex.....

Lana finds Clark in his apartment.....

[Nemu]

Please tell me Lana is picking up ALL of the stuff in the wing she lived in... I mean her stuff is in there and especially the last painting showing Clark/Supes in one...

I'm glad she is starting to subconsciously put things together... But Clark needs to tell her before she figures it out herself... I hope his flight back to Metropolis will make him tell her...

Too bad they couldn't catch the bald bastard red-handed...

[SVsleuth]

I agree with everything Nemu said, especially about the painting & Lana's stuff.

That was a realy good chapter. But I really want more NOW. I know you'v got a bunch of chapters already written, right? Can't we have a 2x, just this once? Please?

I want to see Lana with Clark again. With Supes was good, but I need to see her with Clark & find out what he'll do now. I hope he decideds to tell her the truth & that she will understand why he had to be so secretive until now.

More? Please?

[treker]

I agree with everything Nemu said, especially about the painting & Lana's stuff.

That was a realy good chapter. But I really want more NOW. I know you'v got a bunch of chapters already written, right? Can't we have a 2x, just this once? Please?

I want to see Lana with Clark again. With Supes was good, but I need to see her with Clark & find out what he'll do now. I hope he decideds to tell her the truth & that she will understand why he had to be so secretive until now.

More? Please?

I have a feeling you guys aren't going to be very happy with me in the next few chapters....especially after next weeks cliff hanger. :rolleyes:

[SVsleuth]

I have a feeling you guys aren't going to be very happy with me in the next few chapters....especially after next weeks cliff hanger. :rolleyes:

Grrrr.....

[treker]

Grrrr.....

hey, at least I warned you this time....

[Nemu]

hey, at least I warned you this time....

No no... the trick here is to know why she is growling...

She asked for an x2 and she got your warning instead... lol ;)

and that :p goes to SV actually... lol ;)

[NYC300Z]

Glad Superman was able to save Lana...no trouble with the green stuff...guess Lex hasn't figured it out yet. I wonder what the FBI will be able to do to Lex....

PPMS!!

[zeba-el]

Please tell me Lana is picking up ALL of the stuff in the wing she lived in... I mean her stuff is in there and especially the last painting showing Clark/Supes in one...

If lex see's that picture he will start investigating Clark and notice that he disappeared completely for like 10 years and appeared around the same time supes did which = not good.

I hope Clark tells Lana soon she seems to have subconsciously put it together anyway.


Instead of a 2x you could always a post chapter half way though the week like on wednesday or something.

PPMS!!!

[SVsleuth]

Instead of a 2x you could always a post chapter half way though the week like on wednesday or something.

PPMS!!!

I agree! Come on, Brian, you don't really need to stay 5 chapters ahead of us, do you?

[treker]

I agree! Come on, Brian, you don't really need to stay 5 chapters ahead of us, do you?

I assume that was a retorical question? :rotfl:

[SVsleuth]

I assume that was a retorical question? :rotfl:
No, it was NOT. You're just being mean, Brian. We're begging, & you're toying with us... :(

[Nemu]

No, it was NOT. You're just being mean, Brian. We're begging, & you're toying with us... :(

Nah... if he were toying with you all he would be posting teasers (more than the Next time lines)

[treker]

Nah... if he were toying with you all he would be posting teasers (more than the Next time lines)

yeah, he's right there. and I won't do that to you guys; and besides
that would spoil the next chapter.

[SVsleuth]

I mustn't be any good at this begging stuff. I need to take lessons from Cardinal. He talked LongDistance into posting an early update on her story, since she has a lot of chapters already written.

[Nemu]

I mustn't be any good at this begging stuff. I need to take lessons from Cardinal. He talked LongDistance into posting an early update on her story, since she has a lot of chapters already written.

It depends who you beg to... Brian's a guy... LD's a girl...

and it is a statistical fact that women are closer to their emotions (and begging appeal to those) than guys ;)

in general that is...

----- Added 21 Minutes later -----

oh and also... LD said a little before Card got her to post... that she wasn't on a specific schedule for updates...

Brian on the other hand is on a weekly Sunday update schedule...

[The Black Cat]

Excellent chapter!!! Can't wait for more!!!

[treker]

Chapter 18


“Decisions”

Chloe had taken it upon herself to get Lana as far from Smallville as she could despite what the federal authorities had to say about it; the agents had wanted Lana to ride with them and answer more of their questions regarding her incarceration at Lex’s Mansion, but she had given them everything she could think of in what had happened to her.

Now, Chloe and Lana were halfway back to metropolis in the Daily Planet’s Helicopter; Chloe kept trying to draw Lana into a conversation, but all she did was stare out the window to the sky outside; Chloe was about to give up when Lana suddenly spoke up. “How did you find me, Chloe?”

Chloe looked back at Lana and saw that she was still looking at the sky but waiting for her answer, Chloe thought she looked like a scared little girl asking her parents for guidance. “Well, to be honest, Lana; I wasn’t looking for you, at least not until Clark brought it to my attention.”

The mention of Clark’s name was the one thing that made Lana turn and look at Chloe. “Clark?”

“Yeah, he’s been searching for you; he even got Superman to fly to Paris and do a little background investigation for him; he was convinced that you just wouldn’t disappear like that for no good reason and that’s when we both put our heads together and figured out that you were in Smallville, well, he figured it out; I thought it was a little far fetched, but he seemed certain that you were being held against your will.”

Lana smiled for the first time since she had left Smallville, Chloe thought she saw something in Lana’s eyes; and Chloe became convinced that Lana and Clark were falling in Love, even if neither of them were willing to admit it even to themselves yet. “Clark, even convinced me to call in several favors to get the Feds to break down the door at Luthor’s Mansion; although how he got Superman there is still something of a mystery; and I hate mysteries, they give me a belly ache.”

Lana turned back to look out into the sky, something was bothering her about all this; from the way Superman kept appearing just when she needed him to the painting that had Clark’s body but Superman’s face on it; she couldn’t figure out why she had painted that, it made no sense to her. “Why didn’t Clark come with you?”

“You know, I’ve been asking myself that same question; I looked for him but couldn’t find him anywhere before I left; I just assumed that he had already left for Smallville before I did.”

Lana became silent again, wondering if it could even be possible. But, she dismissed it as the ramblings of someone who had been physiologically abused and chided herself for letting her imagination run away with her.

Chloe looked at Lana and was debating about whether it was wise to ask her about Lex, she had been through something so traumatic that it could send her over the edge, but she had to know. “Lana, where was Lex? I was expecting the FBI to be able to arrest him there with his hand in the cookie jar as it were.”

Lana was very silent as she looked to the sky, she could see the first glimpses of the skyline of Metropolis as they neared the city. “I don’t know he left me alone all day today; I had just assumed that he was watching me from the cameras he had in my prison.”

“Lana, did he rape you?”

Lana breathed in deeply once and then let it out again. “No, but I thought he was going to sooner or later.”

Chloe realized that she had pushed Lana as far as she dare; reaching back she slipped her hand into Lana’s and was shocked with the force that Lana gripped her hand; it was almost painful, but Chloe endured the pain as she knew that Lana needed an anchor to hold onto to get past her ordeal, as Chloe watched her face she saw the faintest trace of a tear as it slowly descended Lana’s cheek.

------------<Sky Over Kansas>--------------

Superman had been trailing Chloe and Lana’s helicopter since it had left Smallville; he had made sure he was far enough back to not be noticed but close enough to make sure nothing happened to them on their journey back home.

He watched the helicopter as it gently landed on the rooftop of the Daily Planet and the mob of reporters that greeted her there along with the local law enforcement; to his surprise and relief, Chloe was keeping most of the mob back through sheer force of will, he knew he would have to thank her for that small act of kindness.

Superman watched as Lana made her way across the roof until she stopped at the door leading to the stairs; she paused and turned looking up into the sky and directly into his eyes, he almost thought that she could sense that he was floating up there watching over her; Lana raised her hand and waved to him before turning following the police into the building. Satisfied that she was finally safe again, Superman turned his attention toward the source of her pain.

Flying across town he found what he was looking for sitting at his desk on top of the Luthor Corp building as if he didn’t have a care in the world; he almost burst through the windows in order to grab the man in question to send him to the death he so richly deserved until he noticed a strike team entering the building from the street. A smile played out across his face as he realized that Lex wasn’t going to escape the justice that was coming his way, he just floated there content to watch the little drama that was about to play out in the office of Luthor Corp’s CEO.

----------<Lex’s Office>----------

Contrary to popular believe, Lex had known that Lana had been liberated from her new living quarters; and he had taken steps to make sure that whatever consequences came his way would not touch him. He also knew that Superman was floating outside watching him as he had installed cameras outside the building that tracked anything that came within 500 feet of the building; he had taken this precaution after Superman’s last little fly by.

He hoped that he enjoyed the show that was about to come and that it would give him some peace; because it would be a very short peace of mind that he enjoyed; Lex had already put events into motion to make sure of that.

Picking up his phone he placed a call. “Yeah, it’s me; no questions, just listen; I’m about to be arrested so I need you to assemble a team. Wait until midnight and then come get me, it’s time the world knew what Prometheus was all about, and that there was no hiding from us.”

Lex had just ended his call when the doors to his office burst open and several federal agents stormed in with guns drawn. “What’s the meaning of this intrusion and what the devil are you doing with those guns pointed at me?”

“Lex Luthor, my name is Agent Smith of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and you are under arrest.”

Lex just sat back and smiled. “Arrest? And what precisely am I supposed to have done?”

“Kidnapping for starters, false imprisonment and whatever else we can come up with.”

Lex slowly rose from behind his desk being careful not to make any sudden moves that would give these gentlemen an excuse to do something stupid, he walked around his desk and slowly lowered his hands. “You must be joking, just whom am I supposed to have kidnapped?”

“Lana Lang.”

Then Lex did something that Agent Smith wouldn’t have predicted, he just started laughing. “Lana kidnapped? Oh give me a break; she’s a guest in my mansion in Smallville; who told you she was kidnapped?”

“Our sources are confidential Mr. Luthor, but Ms. Lang has confirmed the kidnapping after we rescued her with the assistance of Superman.”

Lex approached the FBI agent carefully and looked him dead in the eye. “Listen, Agent Smith isn’t it, I’m sure you’ve been in relationships where your lover was mad at you and made threats that she really didn’t mean. That’s all that’s going on here, Agent; a lover’s quarrel.”

“Do you often lock your lover’s in escape proof rooms, Mr. Luthor?”

Lex just shrugged his shoulders. “It was what she requested; apparently she’s afraid of the outside world. You know how temperamental today’s artists can be.”

“You talk a good game, Luthor; but you’re still under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, which I strongly suggest you use; you have the right to an attorney, which I suggest you ignore; do you understand these rights?”

Lex just smiled while nodding his head yes; Smith put handcuffs on Lex and took him out of his office and down to the nearest police station.

------------<Clark’s Apartment>------------

Clark landed on his patio and changed back into Clark Kent just as there was a knock on his door; as he opened the door he saw Lana surrounded by two police officers; She looked up at him and smiled the first real smile that she had given in days.

“Lana, thank god you’re safe.” Clark invited Lana inside as the cops stayed outside to guard the entrance, it seemed that no one was taking any more chances that Lex would make another attempt on taking Lana away.

After Lana was seated on his sofa, Clark brought her a cup of herbal tea which she accepted gratefully; Clark waited until she was settled down and opened himself up to whatever she needed to say to him.

Finally, Lana turned too him and gave him her full attention. “I understand from Chloe that I have you to thank for my rescue?”

Clark leaned back into the couch and rested his head on his hand as he looked at Lana. “I played a small part; the real credit goes to Superman and Chloe.”

“But, from what I’ve been told, they wouldn’t have even known there was a problem if you hadn’t figured it all out in advance.”

Clark reached over and moved a stray hair out of Lana’s eyes as he looked at her, Lana leaned into his touch and wished he would take her into his arms. “At first I thought you had just decided to disappear on me, thinking that maybe I had intruded on your life too much and after what you had experienced with Jon Paul that you wanted to be left alone; but that was making less and less sense the more I thought of it, thinking that maybe Jon Paul had come back to take you back with him I got a hold of Superman and asked him to investigate in Paris.”

“Why did you need Superman to do that for you?”

Clark realized that his story didn’t have a leg to stand on as Lana was poking holes in it as he tried to explain. “I felt time was of the essence, but what he found when he got there made that scenario impossible.”

“Why impossible?”

“Jon Paul died several months ago, Lana.” Lana was shocked, she hadn’t heard any of this; but, she had never wanted to know anything about Jon Paul again for as long as she lived; she felt sorry that he had died but that was as far as it went.

“And after remembering how obsessed Lex had been with your art and talking with Chloe at the Art Gallery, it just all seemed to add up.”

Lana turned and looked Clark dead in the eye, he could tell that something was troubling her beyond the kidnapping and he had a good guess as to what it was. “Clark, if you knew all of this then why didn’t you come with Chloe to find me?”

Clark opened his mouth to try and come up with another excuse, another reason to hide himself; but he could only see that course of action ending in one of two ways, either Lana will just shoot more holes in his story or he’ll make some convoluted excuse that will cause her to walk out of his life forever. Clark rose and walked over to the patio doors overlooking the city, Lana watched him wondering what was going on.

“It’s complicated, Lana; and I’m afraid that if I tell you what was really going on I might lose you, and that would kill me.”

Lana watched Clark’s back and could see that he was carrying a heavy burden, she rose and walked over to him placing her hand on his arm and turned him to face her. “The only thing that would ever turn me away from you is if you lie to me; promise me here and now that you’ll never lie to me and tell me the truth and I’ll never walk away from you.”

Clark looked into her eyes and prayed that she meant what she said. “If you really mean that, Lana; then there is something I have to tell you. Are you sure you want to know, because once I reveal this to you it will change both of our lives forever.”

“You can trust me, Clark; I swear on my life that nothing you ever tell me will make me reveal any secret you tell me.”

Clark looked deep into her eyes and saw no deception, no hint of anything except acceptance; and at that moment he felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his soul. Taking one final breath he willed himself to change into Superman, Lana’s hands went to her face as she stood there looking at Clark as he appeared when he was Superman. “Oh my god….”

“And now you know the truth, Lana.”

************************************************** ********

Next time on When Hearts Collide.....

Clark tries to explan why he lied to Lana....

Lana has a strong reaction to Clark's Secret.....

Lex's Lawyer has a plan to discredit Lana.....

[SVsleuth]

Well, the long awaited reveal, at last. That was great. I'm glad Clark showed her who he really is. I hope Lana doesn't jump all over him for previosuly lying to her. She ought to understand that he needs to guard that secret very carefully.

[Nemu]

Okay....

Chloe is getting on my nerves and that's nothing new...

The bald bastard... GRRRRRRRRRR I hope Supes listened to the call and everything and that he told the authorities to help them prepare...

YOU ARE EVIL!@!!!!

You have him tell her but then stop before her reaction... that is mean!!!!

and the over use of Oh my God by Lana was ok...

She recieved confirmation to her wild idea on the way back...

and speaking of the way back... I liked the touch of having her wave at him before entering the DP...

[zeba-el]

What no you can't stop there.

Even the king of cliffys has to be kind every once in a while.

Seriously give us a 2x and i will give you my credit card details.

NO JOKE

Anyway great update. Hope you update Soon

[NYC300Z]

What a crazy way to make his coming out....

PPMS!

[treker]

Chapter 19


“Explanations”


Lana stood there looking at Clark in his Superman persona, she didn’t know what to say or feel; on the one hand, Clark had entrusted her with the greatest secret in the world, but on the other hand he had been lying to her for weeks.

“Say something, Lana.”

A tear started to fall down her cheek; Clark reached up to wipe it away but Lana pulled away from his touch. Clark’s hand hovered in midair before he lowered it and backed a step away from Lana. “I’m sorry, Lana.”

“Sorry for what; for lying to me or saving my life?”

Clark just shook his head. “I’d never be sorry for saving your life, Lana; but I am immensely sorry for having to lie to you.”

“Was it a joke to you? Knowing how I was attracted to Superman and you at the same time?”

Clark changed back from Superman and back into his Clark Kent persona and walked over to the fireplace; he placed one hand on the mantle and looked at the flames as they flickered off his face. “That wasn’t what it was about, Lana.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what it was about, I think I at least deserve that much don’t I?”

Clark agreed that she deserved at least that much and very much more from him. “It’s hard to explain; at the start it seemed perfectly reasonable in my mind.”

“You consider lying to the woman you’re dating reasonable?”

Clark winced at that comment. “As time went by it was becoming less and less reasonable; and more and more unreasonable, and I knew that if I didn’t come clean with you now that I would lose you, if I haven’t already done so.”

“That depends on why you did this to me.”

Clark looked over at Lana, she had her arms folded with a stern look on her face; with everything she had been through first with Jon Paul and now with Lex; he was amazed that she was even giving him the chance to explain.

“I guess you can say it began with the first time I saw you when I came back to Metropolis; I was floating in the sky and looked down and saw you, I was struck by how beautiful you were; especially your eyes, I had never seen anyone so beautiful in my life; but I couldn’t take the chance of approaching you as Superman.”

Lana’s face became one of confusion. “I don’t understand, why not?”

“Because I would never know if you were attracted to the flying hero in blue or to me?”

Lana’s features softened as she listened to Clark’s explanation. “Aren’t they one in the same?”

A soft grin played at the corner’s of Clark’s mouth. “No, they’re not; you remember what I told Chloe in the interview?” Lana nodded her head yes. “Well, what wasn’t told was how I grew up and lived in Smallville, raised by a kind farmer and his wife and how they were the best years of my life; how my real persona is just like any other red blooded American male. But, I can’t let the world see that, Superman has to be larger than life; someone to be admired, a symbol for people to emulate.”

“But, not for the woman in your life.”

“No, that person needs to care for Clark Kent the man; not Superman the hero. Yes, you’re right that on some level they are the same man, but in some very real ways they are as different as night and day; and if I’m to find the woman to fill the empty spot in my heart, she needs to love Clark Kent and not Superman.”

Lana wanted to be angry with Clark but after what he had just said she could see his point of view; however, she was still hurt and felt betrayed. “Clark, I understand what you did and why but you have to understand that doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me; and not just once but repeatedly; how do I know you won’t do that again?”

Clark frowned, he had been afraid this would be her reaction. “I would say that I have only my word to prove that I wouldn’t lie to you again, but I think my credibility is stretched rather thin.”

“At this point I would have to agree with that.”

Clark walked back over to Lana and put his hands on her shoulders, this time she didn’t flinch away from his touch. “Is there hope for us?”

“I don’t know, Clark; a real relationship is built on honesty not on lies. I do have feelings for you, Clark; deep feelings, but you’ve damaged my faith in you and it will take some time to rebuild that faith.”

Clark touched Lana’s face with both of his hands. “I promise you that I won’t give up trying until I have regained your trust.”

Lana kissed Clark lightly on the cheek. “I think that is a good starting point for us; but, if you lie to me again then it’ll be over for us; I won’t tolerate any more deceit, Clark.”

Lana turned and walked out of Clark’s apartment; Clark watched her go and hoped it wasn’t the last time that he saw her again; changing back into Superman he walked out onto his balcony and took to the sky.

-----------< Metropolis Jail >----------------

Lex sat at the interrogation table and refused to even talk with the federal agents asking him the questions; in fact he just continued to smile in that sick twisted way that just irritated them more and more as time passed.

“Look, Luthor; you’re looking at life in prison unless you start cooperating. Now, play ball with us and I might be able to get you a deal where it will only be 20 years instead of the rest of your life.”

Lex calmly reached over and poured himself a glass of water; after swirling it around in his mouth a few seconds he looked over at the agent. “Not my usual blend.” Lex sat back and continued smiling just as his lawyer walked into the room.

“Agent, what is the meaning of interrogating my client without me being present?”

The agent turned with a scowl on his face. “It wasn’t much of an interrogation; he’s refused to even admit what his name is.”

“Which is fortunate for you Agent; less you find yourself in an unemployment line. Now please give Mr. Luthor and myself some privacy so we can discuss his case.”

The Agent wanted to tell Lex’s mouth piece what he could do with his suggestion but after trying to question him illegally he thought it best to cooperate; after leaving the room Lex’s lawyer sat down and proceeded to do his own grilling. “Lex, have you lost your mind? You know better than to talk to anybody but me in these situations.”

“I only commented on the quality of the drinking water, otherwise I was quiet as a church mouse.”

“Lex, I have to be honest with you; there may be a way out of this if you’re willing to destroy the Lady in question in order to do it.”

Lex sat back with a scowl on his face. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, you weren’t actually home when she was ‘liberated’ and no evidence linking you to the crime; we could just say that she was stalking you and invaded your home, we can make it look as if she’s obsessed with you and is a danger to society.”

Lex didn’t really want to do that to Lana, especially since he was going to be free in a few hours anyway; but it couldn’t hurt to have public opinion on his side. “Proceed as you see best, and it might be best if you happen to find yourself on one of the local talk shows and do as many newspaper interviews as you can this afternoon, I want public opinion on my side.”

The lawyer packed up his briefcase and started to leave. “I’ll get on it right away, just do me a favor and try not to do anything to damage your case any further.”

“I promise not to do anything within these walls to hurt my case any further.” Which Lex thought was true enough since he would shortly be outside of these walls anyway.

-----------------< Metropolis Central Park >--------------------------

After Lana had left Clark’s apartment she found herself wandering the city, eventually she found herself in the same park where she had first met Clark; but something was wrong, she got the feeling she was being watched. Looking around she couldn’t determine where the source was until she looked up and saw ‘him’ floating up in the sky.

“I know you can hear me, so you need to give me space; when I said I need time to think alone, I meant alone. Please if you care about me at all you’ll stop following me.”

She watched as he slowly flew away until he was out of sight, at least she hoped she was out of sight of him; with his vision could she ever be far from his line of vision? Lana continued to walk until she came to the Lake; it felt good to her to be out in the open air again as her confinement. She looked across the lake and saw a couple floating on a row boat just as she and Clark had done several nights ago and wished they could be doing that again; but the real question in her mind was would they ever be partaking of such activities again?

Suddenly she knew what she had to do, there was only one person in the entire world that could help her sort through her troubles, and taking out her cell phone she placed a call. “Daddy, I need your help.”

Lewis Lang didn’t often get emergency phone calls from his daughter, but when he did he came running; he promised he’d be on the next plane to Metropolis. Lana felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she knew she couldn’t be completely honest with him about the situation but she also knew that he would be able to help her sort through the jumble that was her feelings about Clark Kent.

----------------< Daily Planet >-----------------

After leaving Lana in the Park, Superman flew around the city until he found his way back toward the planet building and made an appearance at his desk. He knew that his job was soon going to be in jeopardy if he didn’t get another story in the pipeline and he couldn’t think of a better story than the first installment of his piece on Lex Luthor and Prometheus.

Finding his desk without anyone seeing him, Clark used his speed to punch out the first installment and print it out; with copy in hand he headed to Perry White’s office and knocked on the door. Perry took one look at Clark and went ballistic. “Kent, where the hell have you been?”
“Just finishing up part 1 of my story on Lex Luthor and his connection to Prometheus.”

“Just what the hell is Prometheus?”

Clark took a seat and handed Perry the copy. “Read and find out for yourself.”

**************** Article on Prometheus ********************************

As many of the people of Metropolis are aware of, we have a friend among us known only as Superman; this man has many abilities that have set him apart and some would say above mankind. Now, to be fair, Superman would say that he is not above us in any form and this reporter would have to agree with that assessment. However, that does not take away from his acts of kindness that he has shown to mankind. One such kindness was to save the good people of Kansas from certain death from an out of control Nuclear Missile.

This Missile was on a direct course for our fair city when Superman redirected it into Space; the explosion from this missile caused our hero to lose consciousness and plummet to Earth to crash in the center of the city creating a large crater.

Now these facts are very well known and publicized; what is not well known is the fact that Superman was abducted by men in military uniforms supposedly sent by our own government; but what must now be revealed is that no agency in our government has any idea who those men were. No branch of any armed forces (both official and unofficial) has any clue as to who they were.

My sources have since uncovered a plot to corrupt Superman to their own devices; an agency which has been referred to as Prometheus has been uncovered as the source of said abduction. Fortunately, for us and Superman, he was too powerful for them to hold him for longer than the time it took him to wake up.

This Prometheus group has turned into something of a mystery as no one seems to know what it is; it wasn’t until this reporter had stopped by the Luthor Corp Offices that further proof of this organizations existence came to light. I had stopped by to discuss Superman’s rescue of a jet carrying the CEO of Luthor Corp, one Lex Luthor, which I overheard a conversation where someone there was referring to Prometheus and the abduction of Superman.

Now, this is the same Lex Luthor who now sits in our city jail accused of the kidnapping and false imprisonment of a local artist named Lana Lang. Is there a connection behind the abduction of Miss Lang and Superman? And does that connection involve the Prometheus Group?

In the coming weeks we will continue the examination of Mr. Luthor and his connection with this mysterious organization.

************** End of Article *******************

Perry put down the article and whistled. “Okay, now you’ve got my attention; is this true?” Clark just nodded his head. “Then get it down to Production right away, I want it on the front page.”

Clark got up and started walking toward the door when Perry stopped him. “Oh, and Kent; if you keep bringing me stuff like that you can vanish as much as you want.”

“Sure thing, Chief.”

As Clark was hurrying down the hall he heard something that made him laugh. “AND STOP CALLING ME CHIEF.”

************************************************** ******

Next time on When Hearts Collide......

Lewis Lang comes to Metropolis.....

Lex makes his escape attempt.....

Lana skates around the issue of Superman with her father....

[SVsleuth]

Clark got up and started walking toward the door when Perry stopped him. “Oh, and Kent; if you keep bringing me stuff like that you can vanish as much as you want.”

Loved that. :)

As for Lana's reaction, she does seem to have softened a bit, once she understood Clark's need to know if a woman really loves him and not just the superhero that everyone idolizes. I'm not sure how Henry can help her sort out her feelings, when she can't tell him tetruth. Maybe her very aattempt to explain it to him honestly, without revealing Clark's secret will help her relate to Clark's predicament better.

I mean, what if she had met a guy, and fallen in love with him, and later he revealed he was a secret agent for the government or something, but for security reasons wasn't able to let her in on that until he knew her better? It wouldn't be that different. I don't think protecting his identiy ought to be thought of as lying to her. She has to realize that he can't just go around revealing his identity to every woman he just met who attracts him a bit. He really hasn't known her very long at all.

Thanks for the update. Looking fwd to the next one.

[NYC300Z]

Lex is crazy and needs to be locked away ASAP! Lana needs to come to an understanding of Clark quickly too. Hopefully her father will help her...

PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter! PPMS!!!

[SVsleuth]

Brian, you're messing up my routine here. I used to read your update every Sunday morning while I ate breakfast - but this is 2 weeks in a row that it wasn't here yet. Darn! Guess I'll get back here later...

[treker]

Chapter 20


“Daddy to the Rescue”


It was roughly 11pm as Superman patrolled the skies over Metropolis; it had been a quiet evening and under normal circumstances he would have gone home since there didn’t seem to be anything urgent requiring his attention. But, with the upset between himself and Lana and having Lex in jail awaiting trial he just had the feeling that something didn’t feel right and he should stay on Patrol.

As the night wore on he rose above the city and thought of Lana and how badly he had handled telling her who he really was, or maybe it was not in the how but in the timing of telling her? But, how could he have possibly told her before he even knew if he could trust her? He finally came to the conclusion that it was a double edged sword that, no matter which way he handled it, would cut him deep to the core of his being.

Either, he told her in the beginning and taken the chance that she would betray him or wait as he did and then only to hurt her in his lack of trust in her integrity. He wished that he could be as aloof as Jor-el was and wanted him to be; but, he had lived as a human being for far too long to just cut himself off from humanity like that. Jonathan Kent had always taught him that if he was to help mankind as his powers had shown that one day he must, that he would have to lead with his heart and his emotions less he become the unfeeling dictator that he had been so afraid of becoming.

Superman found himself pulled from his introspective examination by the sight of a helicopter flying over Metropolis; that in itself wasn’t what set off his alarm bells, what told him that something was wrong was the fact that there were no running lights on this aircraft. A fact that goes against all safety regulations for aircraft flying at night; and this told him that the occupants of this vehicle didn’t want to be detected.

Using his telescopic vision, Superman looked the craft over until he zeroed in on a name plastered over the side of the helicopter; it said one word…’PROMETHEUS’. Superman’s heart started to race as he realized that he was very close to apprehending the men responsible for his own abduction, he almost flew over to them immediately to force them down until he realized that this could be his one chance to prove a connection between Lex and this mysterious organization.

Following from a safe distance; Superman observed them descending toward the city jail and it looked as if they were going to Land on the rooftop. Now, he knew that he could prove the connection if he was just a little patient, although he worried for the officers on duty; what if someone was killed because he waited?

Pulling out a Cell Phone from a hidden compartment he quickly called the jail and got connected with the warden there; he explained the situation and asked that all guards be moved out of the area where Luthor’s cell was. He had to do some fast talking explaining how an assault was imminent and how he would stop it but how he also needed it to begin and connect it to Lex Luthor but he didn’t want anyone hurt in the process. The warden didn’t like it but he went along with the plan since it was Superman asking; the warden also promised to make sure there were plenty of cameras are running to document the evidence needed to implicate Luthor in this jailbreak and its connection to Prometheus.

Just as he predicted, the aircraft landed and men dressed all in black and carrying assault rifles exited the helicopter and headed straight for the door leading downstairs and to the waiting cells below. They wasted little time locating Lex’s cell and blowing the lock; as Lex stepped out he looked around. “Where are all the guards?”

His rescuer’s just looked around wondering the same thing; sensing something was wrong Lex ran for the rooftop, followed closely by his armed assassins. As soon as they hit the rooftop was when the alarms started going off; Superman took that as his cue and swooped down landing in between Lex and his escape craft. “Going somewhere, Mr. Luthor?”

Lex took one look at Superman and flew into a violent rage. “SUPERMAN, DON’T JUST STAND THERE YOU IDIOTS; KILL HIM.” Lex’s men opened fire on Superman who just stood there smiling at them; they emptied 3 ammo clips before giving up.

“I want to thank you for giving me all the proof I need to connect you with Prometheus, Lex; I’m sure the DA will be adding it to your growing list of charges which now include, attempted jail break and attempted murder.”

Lex was screaming when the police stormed the rooftop and took everyone into custody and took them back down to their waiting cells; the warden approached Superman and shook his hand. “I want to thank you, Superman; not only did you keep a dangerous man in jail but you saved the lives of many of my fellow police officers.”

Superman just shrugged it off as if it wasn’t more than he should have done. “I was just doing my duty, Warden; and I couldn’t stand by and let him hurt anyone else.” Taking to the sky Superman flew back toward his apartment content in the knowledge that Lex would never see the light of day again.

-------------< Metropolis International Airport >-------------

The next day Lana was waiting at the airport gangway, waiting for her father to arrive on his plane when a special news report came over the TV monitor; it detailed the attempted jail break by Lex and how Superman had been there to stop him; Lana looked at the footage of Superman and sighed.

She was still so confused about her feelings; she thought back to the first time she saw the picture of Superman at this very airport and wished that she could know the mysterious hero and now she did know him, in fact she knew far more than she wish she knew and that scared her. Why was it so difficult for her to get past what he did? Was it so unreasonable hiding himself from her?

Looking up she saw the one sight in the past few days that put a smile on her face; her father Lewis Lang was coming down the ramp toward his daughter; she practically ran into his arms. “Daddy…”

Lewis Lang was all of 5’2” tall and 175 lbs; it was obvious that Lana had received her small stature from her father, but what he lacked in size he made up with in heart. He hugged his daughter with a ferocity that often squeezed the air out of her lungs, he couldn’t help himself, and she was the light in his eyes, the reason for his continued existence. “Hi, pumpkin; so tell me what has you in such a state that you need to call your dear old dad from half way across the country?”

“Not here, daddy; it’s very private and somewhat disturbing.”

Lewis Lang didn’t like the sound of that but he understood more than most the need for privacy in matters of the heart; and he could see in her eyes that her heart was very much involved with whatever problem had her in such disarray. Normally, a daughter would have called her mother, but knowing his wife that was out of the question; he loved his wife but she could be a cold unfeeling ***** when it came to their only child.

Once out of the airport they were driving in Lana’s SUV when Lewis decided that he had waited long enough. “Okay, Lana; enough with the silence, what’s got you in such a state? Or should I ask, what’s his name?”

“What makes you think it’s about a guy, daddy?”

Lewis chuckled to himself. “Because my dear; you are one of the most put together girl’s I’ve ever met, and the fact that I raised you to be that way fills me with enormous pride; so, whenever you do call for help it’s not usually about the everyday items, it’s usually a problem with a guy. Not that there have been many of those that you need help with, especially after the Paris incident.”

Lana both loved and hated the fact that her father knew her so well; but then that was why she had asked for his help wasn’t it? “His name is Clark, he’s a reporter for the Daily Planet.”

“And what has this, Clark, done that has you so upset?”

“He lied to me.”

Lewis looked at his daughter expecting more of an explanation than that but wasn’t getting anything beyond that. “That’s it? He lied to you?”

Lana just nodded her head and Lewis groaned. “Lana, people lie all the time; it’s not a grounds for a 4 alarm fire.”

“This wasn’t a little lie, Daddy; it was huge.”

“Can you tell me what it was he lied about?”

Lana looked over at her father and sadly shook her head no. “Well, that will make it difficult for me to help you resolve the situation if I don’t even know what it’s about, pumpkin.”

Lana looked at the road ahead as they were passing the Daily Planet building. “I gave my word that I would never tell what it was about.”

Lewis saw where Lana was looking and knew that she’d never tell him the specifics of whatever this young man had lied to her about; he hadn’t raised Lana to go back on her word, he knew that once she made a promise that she would rather die rather than reveal the secret. “Well, if you can’t tell me what it is; why don’t you tell me about him, what is Clark like?”

Lana started to smile as she thought of Clark. “He’s tall and handsome and sexy; and more importantly, he’s kind and generous with a sense of honor and loyalty. He moved heaven and earth to find me after I was kidnapped.”

“AFTER YOU WERE WHAT????”

Lana grimaced at that slight oversight. “Oh, I guess I forgot about that little detail.”

“Yeah, I guess you did.”

Lana grimaced at the her slip of the tongue, she hadn’t wanted to tell her father about what Lex had done to her but now there was no choice. “A man became obsessed with me through my art; a very powerful man who kidnapped me and imprisoned me in his mansion.”

“Lana, did he…”

“No, he never touched me, Daddy; but it was almost as bad as if he did.”

Lewis didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

“He let me know how much he wanted me and how there was nothing I could do about it; and how I would be locked in the room he had made for me with no hope of escape.”

Lewis Lang saw red and for the first time in his life he wanted to kill someone. “Who is this maniac?”

“Lex Luthor.”

Even in New York, Lewis Lang had heard of the billionaire Lex Luthor and Luthor Corp. “And where is this bastard now?”

“In Jail thanks to Superman.”

“And how did Superman get involved with this?”

“Well that’s part of the secret and the lie I can’t tell you about; but the short version is that Clark arranged for Superman to rescue me.”

Lewis still didn’t understand everything that was going on but the one thing he did know was that he needed to meet the mysterious Clark Kent and thank him for saving his little girl and to also weed out what this great secret and lie was that had his daughter so distressed.

************************************************** *************

Next time on When Hearts Collide......

Lewis and Clark have a face to face meeting....

Lana goes into near panic when she wakes up to find her father gone.....

Lewis tells something to Clark that he never would have expected...

[SVsleuth]

Finally Lex is in jail with enough evidence to keep him there, thanks to Superman.

I feel sorry for Clark, feeling like he's lost Lana. I hope she comes to grip with things and realizes Clark really didn't have much of a choice. He can't just go around telling his secret to every woman he just met.

Cool talk beween Lana & Lewis. I hope he can help her sort things out. I'm looking forward to Lewis and Clark meeting and talking.

Thanks for the update - though they always seem too short, & I hate having to wait until next Sunday for more.

[Nemu]

wow only 3 chapters in reserve...

Brian you will have to squeeze the creative juices ;)

yay post 3600 for me... cool...

[treker]

Chapter 21


“Lewis and Clark”

Lewis Lang knew that there was no way he was going to be able to get away from Lana in order to locate this Clark Kent fellow and grill him about what type of involvement he had with his little girl as long as she was keeping an eye on him. So, he waited and bided his time; soon, as they talked into the afternoon at his hotel room, Lana grew sleepy after her long ordeal. “Why don’t you go to sleep while I check my emails?”

Lana didn’t really want to leave her father’s presence but she was exhausted, both from the physical and emotional strain of the last few days. “I am rather exhausted; and the delivery truck won’t arrive with my new furniture until tomorrow.”

“Then go lay down, I’ll be fine right here pumpkin.”

Lana walked over and hugged her father fiercely; she always felt safe when he was around and that was a feeling that had been sorely lacking in her life in the last few days. Walking over to the bedroom she closed the door and went to lie down on the bed. Lew, for his part, did check his email but he also found directions to the Daily Planet from the hotel.

After waiting 30 minutes he walked quietly over to the door and cracked it open to check on Lana; he heard the soft sound of Lana snoring which told him that she was indeed asleep. He quickly wrote a note explaining where he was and placed it on the table in front of the bedroom door.

Quietly walking out the door he made his way down to the lobby and asked for a cab; as he rode in the cab he thought back to what Lana had said and what she hadn’t said; it was obvious to him that his little girl was head over heals in love, even if she wasn’t yet ready to admit that even to herself.

As Lewis exited the cab he looked up at the Planet building and couldn’t help but be impressed by it; but then he had always been under the impression that newspapers were as much about image as they were about reporting the news. As he walked up to the receptionist’s desk, a very attractive blond woman looked up at him. “May I help you, sir?”

“Yes, I’m here see Clark Kent; I believe he’s a reporter here?”

Lewis observed that the woman’s breathing became more labored and her cheeks flushed at the mention of Clark’s name and he wondered what could have caused such a reaction.

“Oh, yes he is; and what a dreamboat he is; he’s so hot.”

Lewis just rolled his eyes, what type of man had her daughter gotten mixed up with? “Is he in the building, I have an urgent matter to discuss with him.”

“Yes, he’s on the 14th floor.”

As Lew rode up the elevator he had to remind himself not to take the reaction of a single woman to heart; Lana was a fairly level headed girl and not one to have her head turned by the first heart throb who threw himself at her. Upon exiting the elevator he looked around until he found a desk with Clark’s name on it except that there was no one there.

“May I help you, sir?”

As Lewis turned he looked directly into the chest of a mountain of a man, he looked up and up and up some more before he found his face; when he finally found his face he had to admit that, even from a guy’s prospective, Clark Kent was an extremely attractive man. “Are you Clark Kent?”

“Yes, I am; what can I do for you?”

“My name is Lewis Lang; I’m Lana’s father and I think it’s time we had a talk.”


Lana tossed and turned in bed; she was dreaming of being back in Smallville and in Lex’s mansion. She ran down one hallway and then another, and every time she opened a door Lex was there laughing at her. She couldn’t understand how he could be behind every door that she opened? She ran for what seemed like an eternity until she came into a large ballroom; the room was circular and had a dozen entrance ways all around her and in every entry way stood Lex Luthor.

They all approached her and surrounded her; reaching for her and tearing at her clothes, they laughed at her, mocking her and telling her how she would only leave this mansion in a body bag.

Lana woke up screaming; she didn’t know how long she had been sleeping but how ever long it was it had been too long. The nightmare had to be the single most terrifying experience of her life and not one she wanted to repeat again; rising off the bed she went to the bathroom and drank a cold glass of water. Then she wondered why her father hadn’t come into the bedroom to see why she had been screaming?

“Daddy?”

Lana walked out into the living area and couldn’t find her father anywhere; that was when she saw the note on the table.

Lana:

I know this isn’t what you want to hear but I’ve gone to meet this mysterious Clark Kent person whom you said has lied to you. I need to see for myself if he’s worthy of my baby girl. Be back soon.

Daddy

Lana went into an immediate panic attack; what in the world was her father thinking by going to Clark like that? Grabbing her purse she ran for the door and down to the lobby. Barely acknowledging the doorman she ran to the parking garage and jumped in her SUV, speeding to the Planet she was hoping that she wasn’t too late to stop her father from doing something stupid.

Running into the Daily Planet building she stopped suddenly and asked Alexis if Clark was in the building, however, her answer made Lana’s heart sink.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lang; But, Clark and some gentleman left the building 20 minutes ago.”


Lewis and Clark sat at a dinning table in an out of the way Italian restaurant called Fernando’s; it just happened to be a favorite spot of the reporters at work and it also was a very quiet place to have a meeting while enjoying some good food.

As they ate Lewis continued to stare at Clark with an intense gaze. “So, tell me about yourself, Clark.”

Clark looked decidedly uncomfortable being quizzed by Lana’s father, a fact that didn’t escape Lewis’ attention. “There’s not a lot to tell, Mr. Lang.”

“Please, call me Lewis; and I hardly think that is the case, Clark.”

“No, I suppose it isn’t….Lewis; what would you like to know?”

Lewis sat back and observed Clark more intensely, he could tell that Clark was a very private man and wasn’t going to make this easy for him. “Okay, just what are your intentions toward my daughter?”

Clark suddenly spit out the water he had been drinking. “Sorry, you just took me by surprise.” Lewis simply nodded his head. “Well, first I want you to know that I hold your daughter in the highest regard, I think she’s a very special lady.”

“As do I; but it seems to me that you too are having a current spat shall we say.”

Clark could see where this was going and he wondered how much Lana had told her father about a certain flying hero. “I would refer to it more as a misunderstanding.”

“You know, Clark; when my only child calls me in near tears telling me that she needs me to fly half way across the country; I take that as more than a simple misunderstanding.”

Clark’s phone started ringing; he glanced down at the caller id and saw that it was Lana. “It seems that Lana is looking for me; I assume that she doesn’t know that you came to see me?”

“No, she doesn’t; and I would appreciate it if you let that call go to voicemail so that we can finish our conversation.”

“Very well; what did Lana tell you about our misunderstanding?”

“Only that you lied to her.”

Lewis could see that Clark was visibly relieved by that admission and that only made him even more curious and determined to find out what exactly was going on between them.

“What happened was between Lana and myself; I can tell you it has to do with my family and that is all I’m willing to say about it; now, I will say that I would never hurt your daughter for anything in the world, she means too much to me for that.”

Lewis looked deep into Clark’s eyes and saw no deception in his eyes; in fact he thought he detected the same look that he saw in Lana’s eyes reflected in Clark’s; could he possibly be in love and not realize it either? “And how can you possibly know that, son; you’ve only known her for a few weeks?”

Clark leaned forward so that Lewis Lang could see in his eyes and in the tone of his voice that he was being as honest with him as he could be. “It’s not something that I can put into words, Lewis; you can’t really tell someone to care or not to care about someone. It just is what it is, the heart knows what it wants and we are powerless to prevent it from going to that special someone that you unrepentantly find yourself drawn too. Is it love? Who’s to say, I don’t know and I don’t think Lana knows either; but what you have to realize is that I’ve entrusted my most carefully guarded secret to Lana in the hopes that it would free us both to open up to each other and discover what we can become to each other.”

Lewis looked at Clark with a new found respect; he thought it was a rare sight to find someone so young with so much insight into what it means to be in love; Clark may not realize it but Lewis was convinced that he loved his daughter, just as he was convinced that Lana loved him. Now, the only real problem he had was figuring out how to get the two of them to admit it too themselves and getting past this disagreement; which in and of itself was going to be a mountain of a problem since neither of them would tell him what it was all about.

“Clark, you say that you can’t tell me what the lie was about between you and Lana?” Clark merely nodded his head. “If you can’t tell me the specifics, can you tell me anything about it so I can help Lana to understand it and possibly move beyond it?”

Clark sat back and thought long and hard about that; how does he explain what he lied to Lana about without revealing that he is Superman? “I guess the best way to describe it would be to say that I didn’t tell her something about my family background; even though she had been completely upfront with me about you and your wife, her time in Paris and even what happened with Jon Paul.”

Now Lewis understood; what the lie was didn’t matter anymore, just the fact that he had lied about his family background when Lana had been so upfront with him was enough. He had always known that his daughter had an obsession with honesty in any relationship; and whatever it was that Clark had lied about didn’t matter nearly as much to her as the fact that he had lied.

“I think I understand now, Clark; I don’t know if I can turn this around for the two of you, but I will tell you this. You’ve impressed me today, Mr. Kent; and if it’s possible I will do whatever I can to facilitate reconciliation between you two.”

To say that Clark was astonished would be an understatement; this was the last thing he had expected to come of this meeting, but he was also not one to look a gift horse in the mouth; standing he extended his hand and shook Lewis Lang’s hand. “I’d be grateful for whatever assistance you could offer, sir.”

Just as Clark was standing to shake Lewis’ hand was when Lana found the restaurant and saw the two of them shaking hands; she couldn’t help but wonder what in the world they had been discussing that would end with Clark shaking her father’s hand.

************************************************** **************

Next time on when Hearts Collide.....

Lana pokes her nose into Lewis and Clark's Lunch meeting....

Lewis see's thru both Lana and Clark.....

Chloe offers Clark advice about relationships.....

[Nemu]

hmmm... Daddy and Boyfriend talking... serious stuff!!!

lol... poor Lana.. ;)

[SVsleuth]

Loved the Lewis and Clark talk. It seems Lewis will be instrumental in helping Lana and Clark get over their problem. I still think Lana is over-reacting. I mean, does she seriously expect Superman to just tell everyone he just met who he really is? He told her quickly, only a few weeks after meeting her. How long did it take for him to tell Pete or Chloe? (Do they even know in this fic? I can't remember.)Much longer than a few weeks, I guarantee. Clark needs to give Lana a new perspective. He needs to tell her that never before in his life has he told someone his secret so soon after meeting them - that he's trusted her, and been honest with her far sooner than he ever has with anyone. She has to see that it is necessary for him to keep his identity a secret. In fact, she does understand that, because she's keeping that secret herself & not telling her father. It seems to me it shouldn't be this difficult for her to realize that Clark has been more open, more quickly, with her than he ever has with anyone. That ought to count for something. What did she expect from him? Maybe he ought to ask her to tell him at what point prior to when he told her the truth does she think he ought to have done it? Could she even answer that question?

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to more next week.

[NYC300Z]

20


Ppms!

[SVsleuth]

Here I am, looking for your Sunday update..... guess I'll come back later....

[ronmanb77]

*grins at SV*

same thing here. hehe

somehow I always get addicted to certain authors, and can't wait til they update so I'm checking almost daily, even though I know they usually update once a week. lol

[Nemu]

you guys will have to be patient...

the way i see things going... soon treker will run out of pre-written chapters... so... yeah...

well... I hope the next chapter is posted soon ;)

[SVsleuth]

Brian? Where are you? Here we all are - again - waiting for today's chapter..... guess I'll go work on writing mine....

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter! I loved it!! PPMS!!!

[SVsleuth]

:( STILL no update?

[treker]

Chapter 22


“Forgiveness”

As Clark and Lewis sat back down to their table, Lana cautiously walked into the restaurant and over to their table; they both looked at each other and then up at Lana. Lana looked at Clark cautiously before turning her attention back to her father. “What are you doing here, Daddy?”

“I would think that would be obvious, Pumpkin; we’re having lunch.”

Lana put her hands on her hips with a stern expression on her face. “That’s not what I meant, Father.” Lewis knew Lana was angry when she started addressing him as father. “I’m sorry, Lana; but after our talk I knew that I needed to have a conversation with Clark here.”

Clark picked up his napkin and wiped his face off as he stood. “Well, I can see that you two have a lot to discuss and I really need to be getting back to work, I still have to write that article on Lex’s attempted jailbreak last night.” Clark shook Lewis’ hand again and then looked at Lana with an expression of longing in his face, but he didn’t know what to say to her so he just left.

Lana almost chased after Clark before Lewis put his hand on Lana’s arm and invited her to sit down. “Before you go chasing after him I suggest you and I have another talk about where you two are heading.”

Reluctantly, Lana sat down and ordered a glass of tea as her father finished his meal. “Just what did you hope to accomplish by coming here today, daddy?”

Lewis was relieved that Lana had stopped addressing him as ‘father’ because it meant she was calming down and might actually listen to what he was going to say to her. “Lana, I wanted to meet Clark and see for myself what type of man he is without your being around to cause him to act in a way that would cover up his true feelings; and I accomplished that mission.”

Lana didn’t know if she liked the sound of that. “And what conclusion did you come to about him?”

“I realized that Clark is in Love with you.”

Lana’s jaw dropped open in shock. “What in the world would lead you to believe that Clark was in love with me?”

“The same evidence that convinced me that you love him just as much as he loves you.”

Lana had to drink her tea before she responded to her father, for she didn’t trust what would come out of her mouth. “I’m not in love with Clark Kent.”

Lewis sat back with a wry expression on his face as he crossed his arms. “Deny it all you want to, Lana; but it is written all over your face when you look at him and every time you talk about him; you’re just scared to admit it to yourself, and so is Clark.”

“Daddy, you’re seeing things that just aren’t there.”

“No, Angel; you and Clark are the ones who are refusing to see what’s right in front of your eyes; refusing, because you’re too scared to accept what the both of you could mean to each other and where this could lead you.”

“You sound like you want us to be together.”

The smile that came to Lewis Lang’s face shocked Lana as did his response. “As a matter of fact, my dear; I do want the two of you together.”

Lana spit out the tea she had just drank in response. “What, how can you say that after only spending an hour with the man?”

“I don’t need evidence, Lana; all I had to do was talk to the man, look into his eyes, hear the tone in his voice to realize how honest and forthright he was being with me. He loves you deeply, even if he doesn’t yet realize it himself; and you, my dear, are just as deeply in love with him.”

Lana slammed her glass down on the table with enough force to cause Lewis’ plate to bounce. “I’M NOT IN LOVE WITH CLARK KENT!!!”

“Perhaps you’d be a little more convincing if you weren’t screaming loud enough for your mother to hear you all the way back in Manhattan?”

Lana looked down in humiliation. “I’m sorry, Daddy; I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Lewis reached across the table and squeezed her hand gently. “You’re forgiven; but it just goes to demonstrate how strongly you feel about him, and it’s past time you come to admit that fact; if not to me, then at least to yourself.”

Lana knew her father was right; but she just couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud; and she knew why, it was because Clark was Superman. And it was at that precise moment that Lana realized that she was no longer angry with Clark; she just didn’t know how she could fit into his life, she was just an ordinary girl and he was larger than life; someone destined to save the world, what chance did she have in competing with that?

Lewis noticed the change that had come over his daughter and was gratified for it, because it meant he had steered her onto the path he had wanted her to follow; he had needed to shock her into realizing how she truly felt. “Come, Lana; let’s take a walk.”

------------< Streets Outside Daily Planet >--------

As Clark left the restaurant he was truly conflicted; he knew how he felt about Lana, or at least he thought he knew how he felt; but, was Lana ready to hear that from him? Or was she still angry with him for lying to her about his true nature, had she forgiven him?

He was just so afraid that if he pushed her to hard that she would kick him out of her life and tell him to never come back. So lost in his thoughts, was Clark, that he failed to realize it when he had walked by the Planet Building; at least until he bumped into Chloe as she was also returning from lunch.

“Hey, Clark; you do realize that work is that way, right?”

Clark just looked back and grimaced. “Yeah, I guess I was lost in my own thoughts.”

“Obviously, anything you want to talk about?”

In truth, he did want to talk about it; but how did he explain the situation to Chloe without revealing the details. “I had a fight with, Lana.”

Chloe grabbed Clark by the arm and steered him back toward work. “That’s it? Just a fight? Clark, couples fight all the time; it’s no reason to go into a tailspin.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not fighting with your girlfriend.”

“When did I become gay?”

Clark shook his head as he looked at Chloe. “Excuse me?”

“You did mention my fighting with my girlfriend.”

The smirk on Chloe’s face just made Clark start laughing. “Good, if you can’t laugh then you can’t get by whatever the problem is; and is the problem so bad that it can’t be overcome?”

“I don’t know, she really doesn’t want to talk about it; and now her father is in town.”

“Oh, that can’t be good.”

“Actually, he’s a delightful man and we just had a very enlightening meal together; at least until Lana showed up.”

Chloe was surprised by that, usually it was the opposite set of circumstances; her experience showed that it was the father and not the daughter who fought any relationship with a male suitor. “If you want my advice you should go over to her place right after work and confront whatever issue is between you two.”

“Wouldn’t that just make matters worse?”

“Letting the situation fester will only compound whatever problems the two of you are suffering through right now; either you two are meant for each other or you’re not, but allowing yourselves to suffer over what might be will only make you both miserable.”

Clark considered Chloe’s advice and what Lewis had said to him at lunch and realized that they were both right; he couldn’t just let this go on any longer, either Lana wanted him in her life or she didn’t and it was high time he found out which one it was.


------------< Metropolis Central Park >---------------

Lana and Lewis had been walking in silence for almost an hour before Lana couldn’t take the silence any longer. “Daddy, how did you know you loved mom?”

Lewis was surprised at the change in focus of their conversation. “It’s hard to describe, Lana; just as you’re finding it difficult to describe your feelings for Clark. But, I guess the only way you can really know if you’re in love with someone is too try and imagine your life without them, and I examined that and discovered that it was a form of hell that I wasn’t willing to live with.”

As Lana listened to her father, a little voice in the back of her mind started to echo the same sentiments that her father was detailing about his relationship with his wife. It was in this moment that Lana realized that her father had been right all along, she was indeed in love with Clark Kent; and that fact scared her to death.

They walked on in silence as Lana slipped her arm inside her fathers and put her head on his shoulder; Lewis patted her hand and nodded his head in satisfaction, he was now convinced that Lana had come to the conclusion that she was in love, he just hopped that Clark and her could patch things up. He had done all he could, it was now up to them.

-----------< Lewis’ Hotel Room >-------------

Lewis had turned in for the night as Lana stood by the window and looked out over the city; she realized that she was looking for signs of Superman, the man she loved. She desperately wanted to tell him how she felt but didn’t know how to go about approaching him.

There was a knock on the door and she wondered who could be visiting her father at this time of night? Walking over to the door, she opened it and saw Clark standing there. “Clark, what are….”

All conversation was snuffed out as Clark picked Lana up and planted the most passionate kiss that he had ever given Lana; at first she fought it, at least for a minute
until she melted into his arms and gave in to the heat of the moment…

[Nemu]

lol title is very "fitting" ;)

[SVsleuth]

Yay! You finally remembered us!

Gosh, that was good, but again seemed all too short. Lewis is wonderful. I'm glad he got Lana to admit her feelings to herself. And, of course, I loved the ending, where Clark just showed up and kissed her - no words needed.

Thanks for the update, Brian. Sorry I've been a pest all day. But, while I waited, I actually did write an update of my own. ;)

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter as usual!! Can't wait for the next one!!!

[NYC300Z]

Still catching up...great job so far!

21

All caught up! Seems they've both worked things out on thier own. now they need to talk to each other. I wonder if Lewis is asleep or if he'll over hear the conversation?

PPMS!

[treker]

Chapter 23


“A Tender Moment”

Lana pulled back from Clark’s embrace only after all the breath had left her body and she was in danger of passing out due to lack of oxygen; she looked in Clark’s eyes and saw no recriminations for the way she treated him, no doubt in his mind that this was the right course of action for them both; maybe he did love her the way her father thought he did, and maybe, just maybe she loved him just as much.

“Clark, what are you doing?”

Clark smiled has he held Lana in his arms, her feet dangling in the air as Clark held her. “I should think that it would be obvious, Lana; I’m kissing the woman who has stolen my heart; I’m kissing the woman I love.”

Lana reached up and touched Clark’s face, tracing his cheek and then his lips; finally pulling a hand away to touch her own face, her own lips. “You love me?”

“Yes, Lana; I love you, I love you with all my heart and soul. I don’t know what the future holds for us, I don’t know what the consequences will be for us knowing that you know about what I am, but I do know that I cannot live with myself if you are not apart of my life.”

And there it was, Clark had just pledged himself to Lana in the most personal way possible, it was everything that Lana had been hoping and praying for; and it was also the one thing that she had been most afraid of. “As much as I’m enjoying this, Clark; could you put me down now?”

Clark grinned at her. “No, I don’t think so; not yet anyway.” Scooping her legs up in his arms, Clark carried Lana over to the couch and sat down with her in his lap. “Now, isn’t that much better?”

Lana had to admit that she did like sitting on Clark’s lap and cuddling on the couch. “Well, not that you gave me much of a choice; but, yes this is much more preferable to having you hold me up in the air. Oh, and by the way, just in case I didn’t make my feelings known by the way I kissed you back; I love you too.”

Clark’s grin got even more pronounced at Lana’s declaration of Love. “Yeah, I kind of got that impression; but, it’s always nice to hear you actually say the words.”

Lana was running her hands through Clark’s hair when she dropped the million dollar question. “So, where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know, Lana; where do you want to go from here?”

Lana glanced over at the bedroom and back at Clark raising her eyebrows up and down several times; Clark’s jaw just dropped open. “You’re kidding?”

“You’re right, I am; I’m not quite ready for that yet, but I am getting close and it was just too priceless seeing the look on your face. But, what I really want to know is what happens from here? Do we keep dating? What happens next?”

“I think one day at a time is the best course of action for us, Lana; we just came back from the brink and finally realized how we feel about each other. Let’s not wreck it by moving too quickly.”

Lana had to admit that she liked the sound of that, going slowly now that they had reconciled their feelings for each other might just be what the doctor ordered. “Oh, crap; I just remembered that I left a lot of my things at Luthor Mansion. And one of them is a painting of you.”

Clark squinted his eyes at Lana not understanding the significance. “Okay, so you lost a painting; just do another one.”

“No, Clark; you don’t understand. It’s a painting of Superman’s body with your head on it.”

Clark’s eyes bugged out as he did now see the significance. “Lana, all that material was confiscated by the FBI to be used in its case against Lex; it’s locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

“Oh, Clark; what are we going to do?”

Clark lifted Lana off his lap and walked over to the window overlooking the city; he crossed his arms and stroked his chin with one hand as he thought. Lana walked up to him placing her hand on his arm. “Clark, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking something I don’t want to consider; I’m thinking that I’ll have to break into the police vault and destroy the painting before anyone thinks to examine it more closely.”

Lana just buried her face into Clark’s massive arm. “This is my entire fault, Clark.”

“It’s nobody’s fault, Lana; it is what it is, sometimes life just throws things at you. Don’t worry, Lana; I’ll take care of it.”

Lana raised her head and looked up into Clark’s eyes; he could tell that she was scared, scared for him and what he would have to do in order to fix her mistake. “Clark, please be careful.”

Clark smiled at her as he touched her face. “I always am; but it warms my heart that you’re concerned. Don’t worry, Lana; I won’t hurt anyone, but I am going to have to destroy your painting, I’m sorry.”

Lana’s blood pressure shot up and her eyes flared for a second before she brought herself under control again; Clark saw this all in the blink of an eye and realized what had set her off, he had threatened her art. “Are you okay, Lana?”

“Yeah, it’s just that I’m very protective of my art; but I realize that that painting is too dangerous to be left intact; it might lead someone to ask questions that they shouldn’t.”

“I’m glad you see things my way, Lana; and I am sorry that this is necessary, I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“You don’t have to do that, Clark; it’s my fault for painting that thing to begin with.”

Clark brought Lana into an embrace and kissed her deeply before letting her go and walking out the door. Lana went to the window and saw Superman suddenly appear from an alley and take to the sky; she looked up at her boyfriend’s retreating form as a smile played across her face. Then she thought of what had just crossed her mind, she had thought of Clark as her boyfriend, the man she loved and it filled her heart with a warm glow that spread throughout her whole body; she wondered if all women feel this same special glow when they thought of their men? She decided that it didn’t matter because this was how she felt and she was perfectly happy to feel this way about this particular guy.

Walking back to the bedroom she cracked the door just enough to hear her father snoring away; she breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t woke up and heard what they had been talking about; that was the last thing she needed now was for her father to find out she was dating Superman.

------------------< Metropolis City Jail >------------------------

Superman floated over the city jail using his x-ray vision to scan the building as he searched for the object that threatened his secret identity; after a short time he saw what he was looking for and unfortunately he knew there was no way he could get to the evidence room without being seen.

He considered just walking in and finding a way to the evidence room to do what he must; but that would raise to many questions, especially after the painting in question turned up in a pile of ashes.

Flying downtown he landed in a nearby alley and pulled open a sewer grating; making his way down into the sewers he flew until he was directly underneath the police station; using his x-ray vision he once again located the painting in the room above. Concentrating, Superman sent a tiny beam of heat vision until it created a microscopic pinhole in the floor; as one hole was made the line of heat continued to the next floor and then the next until it burned a hole in the floor in the evidence room directly below the painting. Once his heat vision made contact with the painting, it burst into flame and was incinerated within seconds. Next he sent a blast of his arctic breath thru the pin hole to extinguish the flames in order to prevent other valuable evidence from being destroyed.

Flying down the sewer tunnels to avoid any possible implication of Superman in this incident, he couldn’t help but feel guilty about what he had just done; Superman was supposed to be a symbol for justice not someone who destroyed vital evidence in a criminal case. But, he also knew that if his secret identity were compromised that everything he had been working for would be lost.

Once out of the sewers, Superman took to the skies once again and flew by Lana’s hotel; looking inside her hotel he saw Lewis fast asleep and Lana on the couch sleeping contently; he saw a small smile on her face as her chest rose and fell softly; he smiled knowing that she was both safe and happy after so much heartache, then he realized that something was different about himself as well; the empty place in his heart wasn’t quite so empty any more, Lana had filled all the empty places that had plagued him since the death of his parents; it was at that moment that he realized that he was truly happy at long last, and it was all because of Lana Lang.


************************************************** *******

Next time on When Hearts Collide......

Lex finds out about the destroyed evidence.....

Clark turns in another Article about Lex....

Perry gives Clark advice about Lana.....

[Nemu]

woohoo it's early this weekend!! ;)

I hope Steph will be able to read it today... that hurricane alert sure seems bad...

now... chapter 23... what can be told about it...

YAY they made up!!!

That was sweet and good!!!!

Too bad Superman had to destroy that painting... Lana can always make another one lol... naming it 'My Superman'

[NYC300Z]

Great Update. Glad they seem to be thorugh everything and are both happy now

PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Great Chapter!! PPMS!!!

[SVsleuth]

Well, it's Tuesday, and the storm has passed, but I'm still in Birmingham until tomorrow morning - so I finally had a chance to come and read.

Wonderful chapter. I'm so glad Clark and Lana are reconciled now, & that painting is gone. Seems this story could likely be nearing its end.

Thanks for the update.

[Nemu]

lol Steph... Brian has a twisted mind... so... I can see this going at least up to Chapter 30...

[treker]

Chapter 24


“Plans for the Future”

The next day there was chaos at the police station as an all out alert was sounded after the destroyed painting was discovered in the evidence room. Lex was pulled from his cell and brought into an interrogation room, the detective in charge was all but screaming at him to admit he was responsible for last nights break in.

Lex, for his part, was completely confused. “Detective, unless you start asking me specific questions and stop screaming at me then I insist you return me to my cell.”

“Okay, Luthor; how about this? How did you destroy the painting in the evidence room?”

“Painting? What painting?”

“The one that Lana Lang painted while you held her prisoner you piece of crap.”

Lex sat back trying to remember what painting that had been; he hadn’t paid much attention to it because it wasn’t a painting of himself; but as he recalled it had been a painting of Superman. “And you say that particular painting has been destroyed?”

The detective nodded his head; Lex sat back and wondered why anyone would want to destroy a painting of Superman; and what’s more how could anyone destroy said painting when the room was locked up tighter than Fort Knox? “And just how was I supposed to accomplish this task while locked up in a 9 foot by 9 foot cell?”

“OH, come on, Luthor; we both know that you’re 2nd only to Bill Gates in power and money; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you paid someone to destroy evidence in your case; it’s just unfortunate for you that he destroyed the wrong piece of evidence, that painting wasn’t even going to be used in your trial.”

Lex laughed. “Then what’s the problem, detective?”

“The problem is that I don’t like it when our evidence room is violated by scum like you, Luthor.”

Lex sat back and smiled. “Sticks and stones, detective; so, unless you have something more concrete than suspicions then I suggest you return me to my cell, or you could just open the door and let me go.”

“Dream on, Luthor; besides, your trial starts today and I wouldn’t miss that for all the money in the world; I just love it when the high and mighty fall just like any common criminal, you’re going away for a very long stay in sinh sinh.”

Lex continued to smile, but inside he was seething at the thought of going to prison for the rest of his life; the detective knocked twice on the door as two guards come in and took Lex back to his cell.

--------------< Daily Planet >-------------------

Clark sat down at his desk with a satisfied smile on his face; he had Lana in his life now and had prevented the exposure of his identity by destroying the painting at the police station; Chloe looked over at Clark and the grin on his face and couldn’t take it anymore, she wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at his head.

After the paper wad hit him in the head, Clark turned with a look of amusement on his face. “You require something of me, Chloe?”

“Yeah, to wipe that smug look off your face; you look like you just won the lottery or something, so what gives?”

In fact, Clark did feel like he had won the lottery; Lana was a prize every bit as valuable as any power ball jackpot. “It’s nothing, Chloe; I’m just very happy today. Perry likes my writing and Lex Luthor is getting the justice he so richly deserves.”

“And the fact that Lana is back home safe and sound has nothing at all to do with your mood?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Chloe.”

“Yeah, right; you know, you don’t lie very well, Clark.”

“You’d be surprised what I’m capable of, Chloe.”

Pulling his zip drive from his computer Clark stood and walked toward Perry’s office; Chloe watched him go with a suspicious look on her face; she knew Clark was hiding something and she was determined to find out what that something was.

Clark walked into Perry’s office and handed him his zip drive; Perry looked it over and back up a Clark. “Part 2 of your Prometheus investigation?”

“Yep; with a direct interview with Superman thrown in for good measure.”

Perry whistled. “That’s quite an accomplishment, how did you manage to get him to consent to an interview?”

“Luck, I was in the right place at the right time; and he was directly involved with the final exposure of Lex’s connection to Prometheus.”

Perry started to read in anticipation of what Clark had uncovered.

*************** Clark’s Article ********************

The case against Lex Luthor and its connection to mysterious Prometheus Group took an unexpected turn one dark night atop the Metropolis County Jail just this last evening. This reporter had the good fortune to interview Superman about these events and how they impacted the case against Mr. Luthor.

Now I know there are some of you out there who say that the evidence is circumstantial and that a citizen of Mr. Luthor’s character could not possible be involved in such a disreputable plot as the one I am about to reveal to you; but it is not this reporter’s job to sit in judgment, only to report the facts as I have uncovered them.

Late last evening while on patrol over our far city, Superman happened to come upon a helicopter traveling over our skies; now you would ask why that was so unusual (which I also asked of Superman) and he replied that the aircraft in question was flying without running lights over a heavily populated city in stealth mode; in addition his enhanced vision allowed him to identify the markings on the aircraft as belonging to Prometheus.

Superman was able to deduce that something was amiss but instead of immediately forcing the craft down and arresting them; he followed them until he noticed they were on a direct course for the city jail. Realizing the danger in allowing an escape attempt and the possible loss of life to Metropolis’ finest in blue, Superman contacted the police and advised them to clear out all the police officers in jeopardy and to set up surveillance on the roof and hallways leading to Lex Luthor’s jail cell; because Superman surmised correctly that this was their target.

Thanks to Superman’s fast thinking, the lives of many police officers were saved as this paramilitary group landed on the city jail’s helipad and stormed there way to Lex Luthor’s jail cell; and yes, there is video evidence that will be used in Mr. Luthor’s trial of this crime. There is also video evidence of Lex Luthor directing this group back to the rooftop and a waiting Superman, so enraged was Mr. Luthor that he immediately ordered his men to murder Superman on the spot.

Fortunately, For Superman; he is impervious to the physical harm caused by bullets, but this does not negate the fact that Lex Luthor ordered the cold blooded murder of another human being. Draw your own conclusions as to what this means in regard to the charges of kidnapping and the wrongful imprisonment of one Lana Lang.

But, Mr. Luthor’s guilt seems clear and his trial a mere formality to his eventual imprisonment for a as yet undetermined number of years; however, knowing the law as I do I wouldn’t count on his ever seeing the light of day again.

What this event means to this investigation seems clear; Mr. Luthor is the brains behind Prometheus and its subsequent attempts to kidnap and then murder the Man of Steel. I’m sure as the authorities continue their investigation into Lex Luthor, Luthor Corp and Prometheus; the connection between these 3 entities will see the light of day; The final judgment on Lex Luthor and his freedom is now being decided by the courts; but, we can all rest assured that the days when a man of power can play with the lives of the less fortunate are now a thing of the past.

********************End Clark's Article*************************************

Perry put down the article and smiled. “It seems you’ve got Luthor by his gentiles, Clark. Well done, so get this down to production and let’s get it out in a special edition; I want this on the streets before Lex gets to trial and everyone finds out about this.”

Clark nodded and took his zip drive to go down to production when Perry stopped him. “And how is Lana, Clark? Has she recovered from his ordeal?”

“She’s fine, Perry. Her father is in town and taking care of her, now I’ll be off to production.”

As Perry watched Clark leave he shook his head as a wise smile came to his face. “And I’ll just bet that her father isn’t the only person watching over that lovely young lady; take care of her, Clark.”

As Clark walked down the corridors of the planet he had heard what Perry had said and smiled; because he had every intention of taking care of Lana for the rest of his life.


************************************************** ******************

Next time on When Hearts Collide......

Lex's Trial Begins.....

A new threat emerges to Clark and Lana's Happiness....

Lex vows to destroy Clark and Lana.....

[Nemu]

Well that was good!!!

The beginning of the chapter showed the possible down side of what Clark did...

Chloe needs to die... she isn't entitled to anything in regards to Clark... if he wants her to know something he will tell her... I hope if she starts investigating him that he will kick her ass (woman or not) since that will be a betrayal of the worst kind as well as a breach of security for Superman's life... So eliminating the threat would be needed...

[SVsleuth]

Well, it seems Lex is getting blamed for Lana's painting getting destroyed. Why am I afraid that that image is on some video footage from Lex's mansion? I could almost see the gears spinning in Lex's mind & him wondering if he might have that image on video. I hope I'm wrong.

I hope Lex's trial goes well & he gets locked up forever. But I don't like that he'll be out to destroy Clark & Lana. They'd better not let anything else come between them.

Thanks for the update. I'll try to sit back & be patient, waiting for next Sunday for more, since begging for a 2x never works on you, Brian. I won't mind if you want to prove me wrong about that, though. ;) PPMS!!!

[NYC300Z]

Clark sure is confident that Lex wll be fond guilty

PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter!!! Can't wait for more! PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 25


“The Trial”

The afternoon of Lex’s trial, the courthouse was in total pandemonium; the press was labeling the even ‘The Trial of the Century’. Clark arrived at the courthouse with Chloe in tow, it was strange because the entire drive over Chloe kept talking about everything and nothing; and she had been steering the conversation toward women and how sometimes relationships were just doomed from the start, and even stranger was the fact that she had continued to move closer and closer to him in the car. If he didn’t know any better he could have sworn that Chloe was coming on to him.

Standing next to Chloe in the hallway where all the press were squished together like sardines in a can, he felt her hand in the middle of his back; looking down at her Chloe merely smiled. “Sorry, big guy; but it is rather cramped in here.”

“No problem, Chloe; I know you didn’t mean anything by it, we’re friends, right?”

There was a twinkle in Chloe’s eye as she played with the locket on her necklace which was just above her breast line. “Of course, Clark; I’d never think of flirting with a game already dating someone.” Clark looked into her eyes and something just didn’t feel right; if he didn’t know any better he’d swear that Chloe was lying to him.

“Oh, Look, there’s Lana just coming up the steps.”

Clark jerked his head in her direction and there indeed was Lana with her father just entering the corridor; Clark and Chloe pushed there way through the crowd of reporters until they were elbow to elbow with Lana and Lewis Lang. Lana wasted little time in wrapping her arms around Clark’s midsection and hugging him; Chloe’s arm moved from the middle of Clark’s back in a motion that hinted to Clark that she really didn’t want to move it.

Chloe just stood back and eyed both Clark and Lana; her eyes were becoming a narrow slit and her smile had disappeared from her face. “So, Lana; what are you doing here?”

Lana opened her eyes and she moved her head from it’s place on Clark’s chest. “I came to see Lex get the justice he so richly deserves.”

“Yes, of course; I should have guessed.” Chloe turned to started pushing her way back through the crowd; Lana looked at her and then back up at Clark who merely shook his shoulders.

“Don’t ask me, she’s been acting weird ever since we got here.”

Lana looked back at her father who was studying the retreating Chloe Sullivan and then back up at her guy. “So, anything interesting happen around here yet?”

“Nope, just waiting for them to bring scum boy out from his cage.”

“Scum boy?”

Clark just shrugged his shoulders. “What else would you call an obsessive billionaire with delusions of godhood who thinks who can own anyone he wants just because he’s rich?”

“I would think someone with your oratory skills could come up with something more colorful than scum boy.”

Again Clark shrugged his shoulders. “He’s not worth the effort it would require to come up with something more colorful.”

“I tend to agree with Clark, Lana; Lex Luthor is not worth the effort.” Lana looked back at her father with a frown, it wasn’t like her father to degrade another human being like that; but then again, he had been angry ever since Lana had told him what Lex had done to her.

Suddenly the crowd began shouting and pushing forward, Clark looked over and saw what was causing the commotion. “I see scum boy has finally arrived.” Lana and Lewis looked over and saw only the bald top of Lex’s head as he was lead into the corridor in hand cuffs and leg irons.

Lex looked around and immediately locked eyes with both Clark and Lana; Lana immediately moved closer to Clark seeking his support from the man who had terrorized her; Clark in return put both of his arms around Lana to draw her closer to him for security. Lewis noticed all of this and stepped in front of Lana to break her eye contact with Lex, Lewis stared at Lex with unbridled hatred in his eyes.

Lex saw Lewis break his eye contact with Lana and wondered who the short man was who staring daggers at him was; all this mattered little as the police escorted Lex past the reporters and into the court room.

After sitting Lex down at the defense table the spectators were allowed into the court room; since Lana was the victim she was seated directly behind the prosecutor with Clark and Lewis by her side; Chloe just happened to be sitting directly behind them. Chloe leaned forward and whispered words of encouragement to Lana, and while Lana was nodding and smiling at what Chloe was saying, Clark could feel Chloe’s hand on the back of his neck massaging him; now he knew something was up with his supposed friend, and he intended on confronting her about it as soon as possible.

Lex leaned back from his seat and looked at Lana in a way that made her feel dirty; Lex just kept staring at her, his lips parted and his tongue licking his lips; Clark saw this and sent a mild wave of heat vision to his lips causing him to yelp in pain.

Lana looked from Lex holding his mouth to Clark and the intense stair that he was giving Lex. “Clark, did you just do what I think you did?”

Clark looked down with a sheepish look on his face. “And what if I did?”

“That’s very sweet of you, but also very dangerous; what if someone put 2 and 2 together and figured something out that they shouldn’t?”

“The chances of that happening are extremely remote; and besides, I knew what he was trying to do too you and wasn’t about to let him get away with it.”

Lana wrapped both of her arms around Clark’s arm and leaned into him seeking his comfort. “That was very gallant of you, Clark; but please don’t take such chances when it’s not necessary; he wasn’t hurting me.”

“If that’s what you want, Lana.” But in his mind Clark knew he would do it again in a heartbeat; despite what Lana was claiming, he knew that Lex had indeed been hurting her; maybe not physically, but emotionally it was like a slap across the face; and Clark was not about to sit back and let any man do that to his girl. Chloe was sitting behind them with her arms crossed and grinding her teeth at seeing Lana snuggling up to Clark.

The trial itself was a very brief one; on the surface the charges against Lex were not as strong as the prosecution would have liked and could have drawn the trial out for weeks; but there was no disputing the video evidence of Lex’s attempt to break out of police custody nor was there any disputing the video evidence of himself ordering his Prometheus henchmen to attempt to murder Superman.

The defense and prosecution were through by the time lunch time hit; and the jury was only deliberated 30 minutes before issuing it’s verdict. On the charge of kidnapping: Guilty; On the charge of unlawful imprisonment: Guilty; On the charge of Attempted escape from Police Custody: Guilty; and on the charge of Attempted Murder: Guilty; The judge didn’t even need time to deliberate his sentencing, just the charge of kidnapping and false imprisonment carried a penalty of 20 years to life in prison; when combined with all the other charges the judge order Lex Luthor to 2 concurrent Life Sentences in a maximum security facility with sentences to run concurrently.

Lex looked like he could chew nails as he was lead out the side door to begin his sentence; Clark looked on in satisfaction to know that Justice was still something that the rich couldn’t buy their way out of. Lana and Clark stood up and embraced.

“Is it really over, Clark?” Lana looked up at Clark and he just smiled as he stroked her face. “Don’t worry, Angel; he’s never going to be able to hurt anyone ever again. It’s safe to go home now.”

As Lex was being lead out the side door he stopped just long enough to look back and see Clark and Lana holding each other, the fire in his eyes should have incinerated them on the spot. “If you two think you’ve seen the last of me then you have seriously miscalculated.”

Lewis saw the look that Lex had been giving Clark and Lana and knew that something was wrong; that was not the look of a defeated man, it was the look of a man more determined than ever to exact his revenge on his enemies. That one look was enough to convince Lewis that he needed to remain in town for a time, maybe permanently to make sure his little girl was going to be safe.

Clark and Lana had missed the entire exchange between Lewis and Lex; Clark and Lana turned to Lewis with smiles on their faces. “Come on, Daddy; why the long face? Let’s go celebrate, the nightmare is finally over.”

“Whatever you say, Pumpkin.” Lewis locked eyes on the door where Lex had left and then on the retreating form of Chloe Sullivan and then looked up at Clark; Clark saw the look in his eyes and knew he was worried about something but didn’t want to voice his concerns in front of Lana for fear of worrying her. Clark decided that he would have to get Lewis alone very soon and find out what it was that was bothering him, but he’d have to wait until Lana was distracted enough to let them slip away in Private

[Nemu]

Hmmm...

Well... Chloe is making me sick... stupid ***** should learn to keep her hands off... I hope Lana kicks her ass... not Clark...

I like Lewis... and once more I feel like Clark could come clean to him and that it would be a plus... not to mention Lewis' ultimate hatred for one Bald bastard...

All in all... that was a pretty good chapter...

now... what will happen in chapter 26? I wonder...

[SVsleuth]

Welll.. I was surprised at Chloe's sudden interest in Clark. I don't recal her being into him before - although it could just be that I don't remember, due to reading so many different fics.

I'm glad Lewis realized Lex won't give up, even if behind bars. Hopefully, he'll clue clark in, so he can be extra vigilant.

Thanks for the update, Brian.

[Nemu]

Welll.. I was surprised at Chloe's sudden interest in Clark. I don't recal her being into him before - although it could just be that I don't remember, due to reading so many different fics.

It was subtle but she has been "interested" in Clark since she met him...

[The Black Cat]

That was Great!!! PPMS!!!

[NYC300Z]

Well glad Lex is behind bars....wonder how long he'll actually stay there? What in the world is Chloe's deal? I'm pretty sure that's what Lewis wants to talk about

PPMS!!

[treker]

Chapter 26


“Chloe”

Lex had barely been in his cell for more than 20 minutes when he was informed that he had a visitor waiting for him; his first reaction was to tell whoever it was to go straight to hell, but his curiosity was getting the better of him and since he would be spending a considerable amount of time in an 8 x 10 cell, any chance to get out of it was a welcome relief.

As Lex was lead into the waiting room to see who had come to see him he was surprised to see the short balding man who had been with Clark and Lana at the trial; the same man who had stood between Lana and Lex’s line of vision, and the look he had given him had spoken volumes of what he would like to do to Lex for even looking at Lana.

Lex sat down and looked at the man as the guard handcuffed him to the table and then left them alone to speak. “I take it you’re related to Lana?”

“Her father as a matter of fact, I’m Lewis Lang.”

“Ah, so the other shoe is dropped; and what exactly can I do for you Mr. Lang?”

Lewis leaned over the table coming within inches of Lex’s face. “For one thing you can leave my daughter alone, Luthor. You’re going to prison now because you couldn’t keep your pants zipped, just what more do you need to do to my little girl?”

“I think you have me confused with someone else Mr. Lang; I’m going to prison, just what do you think I can do to your daughter from within these walls.”

Lewis sat back and eyed Lex as he crossed his arms. “You must take me for a fool, Luther.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Lewis just shook his head. “You may be heading to prison, Luthor; but you’re far from powerless, and I have no doubt that your influence will reach out from behind these walls.”

Lex’s eyes narrowed as he tried to see into Lewis Lang’s mind and see what he knew; this was not a simple man to say the least and he obviously saw better than most people in his situation would have. “I think that for the time being, your daughter and Clark Kent have nothing to worry about where I am concerned.”

“See to that, Luthor; unless you want to find out just what a father is willing to do in order to protect his little girl.”

Lex and Lewis stared at each other one final time before Lewis turned and left through the opposite door; as Lex sat there he considered just how he could use the elder Lang’s paranoia regarding what he might actually do to his precious little girl.

-----------------------< Daily Planet >----------------

Chloe sat at her computer terminal as she searched the web; she had already filed her story on Lex’s trial and now she was in the process of doing a background check, and the person she was researching was none other than Lana Lang.

Chloe was muttering to herself. “There must be something here for me to use against her.”

“Something for you to use against whom, Chloe?”

Chloe turned suddenly in her chair and found that she was looking at the belt buckle of a very large man; slowly she looked up and up and up until she finally found his face. “Oh, hi Clark; I thought you’d be out celebrating with Lana?”

“We’re meeting up later at the restaurant with her father; you never said what you were looking for to use and against whom you were trying to use it against.”

“I think you must have misunderstood what I was saying, Clark.” Chloe was grateful that her screen saver had come up just as Clark had appeared behind her. At least this way she had a chance to talk her way out of this situation.

“No I heard you very clearly, Chloe; you’re looking for dirt to use against someone, a female someone.”

“It’s just a story I’m working on, it’s nothing to be concerned about, Clark.”

Clark started to move around Chloe to see what was on her computer monitor, but all he saw were the flying marbles of Chloe’s screen saver; the fact that Chloe moved to block his sight of whatever she was working on was more than enough to raise the hairs on the back of Clark’s neck; but he had another reason for talking to Chloe. “Fine, Chloe; but, your article isn’t the reason I came to see you today anyway.”

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief that Clark wasn’t pressing her further about her monitor. “Then why are you here, Clark?”

“I wanted to see you so we could discuss what happened at the courthouse today.”

Chloe had a bad feeling about what Clark was referring too but decided to play dumb. “Well, I think we knew that Lex was going to Prison before the trial even started, Clark; what needs to be discussed about that?”

“I’m not talking about the trial itself, Chloe; I’m talking about what happened between you and me in the hallway and again when we were seated in the courtroom.”

Chloe hadn’t been counting on Clark being intent on confronting her so soon. “I don’t understand, Clark; what happened?”

Clark just stared at Chloe. “You’re not going to seriously stand there and pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“Did something happen with Lana? Are you two okay?”

Clark continued to stare at Chloe and now he was getting angry with her; she knew very well what happened and she was not just lying to him. “I thought we were friends, Chloe; why are you doing this?”

Chloe just swore under her breath, she could see how angry Clark was getting and had hoped that he wouldn’t press the issue the way he was. “Are you talking about when I massaged your neck in the courtroom? OH god, Clark; get over it, that didn’t mean anything.”

“Really?! And what about putting your arm around me out in the hall and refusing to remove it until you absolutely had too?”

“Clark, you’re reading things that just aren’t there; we’re friends and nothing more.”

Clark narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Chloe, he knew she was lying but she obviously wasn’t going to admit it; at least not voluntarily. “Alright, Chloe; I’ll take your word that it didn’t mean anything; but just remember, I’m with Lana and that isn’t going to change now or anytime in the future. Are we clear?”

“As crystal, Clark; you have don’t have to worry about me ever trying to come between you two; no get out of here and go celebrate.”

Clark scowled at Chloe for a few more minutes before nodding his head and turning to walk away. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief that she had dodged another bullet, she just couldn’t let Clark figure out what she was really up too.

------------------< Café Italia >----------------------------

When Clark arrived at the restaurant the party was in full swing; Lewis had been saying something to Lana and she was doubled over in laughter; that very site had lifted the dark cloud that had been hovering over Clark since his confrontation with Chloe.

Lana saw Clark walking toward them and she immediately ran over to him, giving him a big hug and a kiss. “Hello, handsome; what took you so long to get here?”

Clark thought about telling Lana about Chloe, but she seemed so happy that he didn’t have the heart to ruin her good mood. “It was nothing, babe; I just had to go over some notes with Chloe, it took longer than I thought it would.”

Lana could see that there was something more to Clark’s story than he was letting on, but she trusted that if it was anything really serious that he would tell her; and right now all she wanted to do was celebrate with her father and her man. Her nightmare was finally over and now it was time to move on with the future.

[Nemu]

sadly it is only one nightmare that is over...

Clark should have looked at Chloe from outside her office to see what she was looking at...

[SVsleuth]

Hmm.... I'm gonna give Chloe the benefit of the doubt here. I'm gonna guess that Chloe was putting on an act for Lex's sake, hoping that Lex might believe that she would betray Clark & Lana & help him somehow. In fact, maybe Chloe wants to find somthing that she can go to Lex with, figuring that she can then gain his trust & find out what he might really be doing - her motive really being to protect Clark & Lana. Tht's my hope, anyway. I really don't want Chloe to actually be up to no good.

Anyway, thanks for squeezing in some ime to write & get us an update, Brian.

[NYC300Z]

Something is seriously wrong with Chloe and what is Lex planning now? Did Lewis just make things worse by seeing Lex?

PPMS!!

[treker]

Chapter 27


“All Good Things”

The party had been in full swing for an hour before Clark was able to distract Lana enough to have a private word with Lewis; Lana had gone to the woman’s restroom to refresh herself and Clark saw his chance. “Lewis could you step outside with me, I’d like to have a word with you in private.”

Lewis was somewhat concerned but saw no harm in it. “Sure, Clark; what’s on your mind?”

“I’ll be blunt, Lewis; how long are you planning on staying in Metropolis?”

Lewis’ jaw dropped open a bit in shock at Clark’s frankness. “I hadn’t really considered it, Clark; do you think it’s time I left?”

Clark leaned up against the wall and ran his hand through his hair. “No, Lewis; to be perfectly honest I’d rather you were around town at the moment; there’s just so much going on right now that I think it would be in Lana’s best interest if you were around for the time being.”

Lewis studied Clark intently, concerned about what might be going through his mind. “To be honest, I’m considering moving here; this is the second time where I wasn’t around for my girl and when she needed me most and I don’t plan on letting there be a third incident.”

“Did you visit with Lex have anything to do with your decision to stay?”

Lewis’ eyes narrowed as he studied Clark. “And how do you know that I paid Lex a visit?”

“I have my sources, people in the police department who are sympathetic to what Lex has put Lana through.”

Lewis nodded his head firmly once. “Good, I’m glad you’re not letting Lex’s incarceration cause you to lower your defenses.”

“There’s an old saying, Lewis; fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me; what did you find out from your conversation with Lex?”

“Only that the fact that he’s in jail doesn’t free Lana from the danger he poses toward her; a fact that I let him know I was perfectly well aware of.”

Clark straightened from his position against the wall and extended his hand to Lewis; Lewis took Clark’s hand and gave it a firm handshake. “Then we have an agreement; we’ll do whatever is necessary to protect Lana.”

“We do indeed, son; and I must say I’m very relieved that you’re in my little girl’s life.”

Clark didn’t answer but he did smile; walking back into the restaurant they found that Lana was just coming back to their table as they were walking back in the door. She looked at them in concern wondering what was going on. “And just what have you two been up too?”

“Would you like to tell her, Lewis?”

Lewis just smiled and looked at Lana. “How would you like it if mom and I moved here permanently, Pumpkin?”

The shock on Lana’s face was evident. “You’re serious?” Lewis just nodded his head yes which caused Lana to squeal in delight and launch herself into his arms kissing him repeatedly on the cheek. “Thank you, Daddy; yes I’d love it if you moved here.”


“Lana, don’t hold back; so him how you really feel.”

Clark’s laughter was infectious as they all came together with the knowledge of what Lewis was proposing; at least until the world came crashing back down around them with one simple question. “Have you talked to mother about this yet, Daddy?”

Lewis just rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, actually, no I haven’t.”

“Daddy, she’ll be furious; she loves New York and won’t be willing to leave it without putting up a fight.”

Lewis’ face changed expressions from embarrassment to a very stern one. “I am the head of this family, and if I say I’m moving here then she’ll just have to get in line with that idea because she’ll have no choice in the matter.”

“Daddy, have you met my mother?”

“Leave that to me, Pumpkin.”

The remainder of the part passed without incident as Clark, Lana and Lewis enjoyed themselves; after leaving the restaurant Lewis insisted that Clark and Lana take a walk in the park while he went back to the hotel to place a call to New York; Lana offered to come and offer support but Lewis refused as he didn’t want Lana to be subjected to the endless screaming that was bound to be the result of the phone call.

So, while Lewis walked back to the Hotel; Lana and Clark strolled arm in arm in central park. “Clark, would you tell me something?”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Lana.”

“What were you really doing before you came to the restaurant?”

Clark sighed; he just knew keeping things from Lana was going to be impossible from now on. “I was at the planet talking to Chloe as I told you, but not for the reason that I told you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Something happened at the courthouse that I just couldn’t let pass; Chloe was touching me, touching me in a very not platonic friend type of way; and she did it again in the courtroom when she leaned forward to talk to you.”

Shock and betrayal flashed instantly on Lana’s face followed closely by rage. “How could she do such a thing, I thought she was our friend?”

“So did I, which was why I needed to confront her and get an explanation for her actions.”

“And what did she have to say for herself.”

Again, Clark was silent as they walked around the lake. “Nothing, she denied the whole event even took place.”

“Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand her intentions, Clark?”

Clark looked down at Lana and then back out across the lake. “No, it’s kind of hard to misinterpret someone giving my neck a massage while she was talking to you in the ear trying to give you friendly support.”

Lana stopped walking and looked straight up at Clark so he wouldn’t misunderstand her intent. “Friend or no friend, I’m not letting her come between us; this ends now!”

“I’ll take care of it, Lana; there’s no reason for you to get involved.”

“No, Clark; you’re too close to her; and this is really between Chloe and me now; she’s after my man and I won’t stand for it, I’ll deal with Chloe.”

The fire in Lana’s eyes was all the proof that Clark needed that he should leave this up to Lana. “If that’s the way you want it, but if possible I’d like for us to salvage our friendship with Chloe.”

“As do I, Clark; but, we just got through the whole Lex fiasco and I’m not really up for round 2 with Chloe Sullivan; friend or no friend she needs to realize that we’re together and that she needs to back off.”

Clark brought his arms around Lana and wrapped himself around her as she snuggled into his warm embrace. “Nothing will ever break us up, Lana; but I’ll let you handle Chloe until it becomes obvious that I need to step in.”

Clark brought Lana’s face away from his chest and gave her a deep kiss before placing her arm within his and continued their walk around the lake; unseen by either couple was a cute blonde with binoculars who had been observing their every movement from the time that they had left the restaurant.

[Nemu]

Well... You are early!!! cool!!!

Erm... it is remainder of the party (you forgot the y)

lol at Lewis and Lana talk about her mom... Maybe if Lewis tells Laura that Lana is in danger and that it is the reason why he wants to move to Metropolis it might help convincing... else Clark could always send Supes...

Go Lana!!!!

Chloe needs to be interned...

Glad Clark came clean about the Chloe situation...

[SVsleuth]

You're early! :)

What in the wrld is going on with Chloe? I can't even begin to guess.

I'm glad Clark & Lewis get along so wll. I hope Laura agrees to the move without causing trouble.

Thanks for the Clana walk in the park, honesty, & kiss. :)

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter!! PPMS!!!

[NYC300Z]

hmmm who was the blonde that was watching them??? I think I know...how bad of a fight will Mrs. Lang give Lewis? hmmm interesting...

PPMS!!

[treker]

Chapter 28


“Lana VS Chloe”

The next morning found Lana waking up in his hotel room to the sound of screaming coming from the next room; her father was on the phone with her mother. He had obviously just informed his wife of his desire to move to Metropolis to be near her.

“…and our daughter needs us here; the events with Lex Luthor and what happened in Paris are more than enough evidence to convince you of that!”

Lana walked up behind her father and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the forehead as he argued with his wife.

“I don’t care if she’s an adult or not, she’s our flesh and blood and she needs us; and that us is plural, you know what that means don’t you? Not only me but, she needs you as well.”

Lana hoped her father wouldn’t be arguing with her mother too much longer; truth be told, she could really care less if her mother came to live in Metropolis. She had never been supportive of Lana in anything she ever attempted, and if she was honest about the whole situation she truly believed that her mother wished that she had never been born.

As much as Lana wanted to stay and give moral support to her father, she had other fish to fry on this early morning; namely a certain blonde haired reporter who needed to be educated about the facts of life where Clark was concerned, namely, that she needed to keep her dirty mitts off her man. Waving at her father she indicated that she was going out and he just waved at her and blew her a kiss before returning to his argument with his stubborn wife.

Riding down in the elevator, Lana had been running the last few weeks through her mind trying to determine if she had missed something where Chloe was concerned; Or if Chloe was just that good of a liar to have deceived them all about her true intentions toward Clark.

But, the more she thought about it the angrier she got; Chloe had befriended both her and Clark and now she was coming after him when she knew that they were together; What type of woman would do such a thing. Before heading over to the Daily Planet, Lana took a stroll through the park where she passed the café where Clark and her first met. It was a very pleasant memory, and one she planned on telling her children one day and that was something she just refused to let Chloe interfere with.

After leaving the park, Lana at last felt as if she was in the right frame of mind to confront Chloe without giving in to her urge to claw her eyes out and pull out every fake root of her blonde hair. As she entered the Daily planet building, she was once again amazed at the old world meeting the modern age of journalism. She longed to just explore the building for it gave her many ideas which she longed to employ in her next painting or sculpture; but that was for another time, she was here on personal business.

The elevator deposited Lana on the newsroom floor; as she walked inside the great hall she could hear the hustle of the reporters as they rushed to meet their deadlines; however, her wonder was stopped as she saw Clark at his desk with Chloe hovering over him, her hand on his back rubbing his neck; she also saw Clark repeatedly brushing Chloe’s hand away which didn’t seem to faze Chloe in the least.

Using every once of willpower she possessed, Lana didn’t attack Chloe on the spot as was her first impulse; instead she walked casually up behind both Clark and Chloe and slipped her arm around Clark’s shoulder, and brushing Chloe’s arm out of the way in the process. “Hey, babe; how’s your day going?”

Chloe stood abruptly straight up as if she was shocked and surprised to see Lana here; Lana kissed Clark on the cheek but she was eyeing Chloe out of the corner of her eye with a scowl on her face; this look didn’t escape Chloe’s notice.

“I think I’ll leave you two alone; I’ll catch up to you later, Clark.”

Lana could see Chloe trying to make her escape, but she wasn’t having any of it. “Oh, Chloe; please don’t go, I actually came here to see you. I’d like to have lunch with you and catch up.”

Clark looked up at Lana as his eyes narrowed and wondered what Lana was up to. “Lana, do you think….”

“Its okay, Clark; Chloe and I just haven’t had much time for girl talk with the trial and everything; it will be a good opportunity to catch up.”

Chloe looked like a deer caught in headlights; she desperately wanted to find a way out of this lunch as she sensed a trap forming around her. “Lana, while I appreciate the offer; I’m really very busy right now.”

“Nonsense, Chloe; you have to eat after all, don’t worry it won’t be a long lunch, I just want the opportunity to catch up and talk.”

Seeing that one way or another they were going to have ‘Girl Talk’. “Okay, Lana; but I don’t have a lot of free time today, so it will have to be a quick lunch.”

Lana smiled in a very friendly manner as she followed Chloe from the newsroom; Clark watched them both go with a feeling of dread, he now began to question the wisdom in telling Lana about his suspicions regarding Chloe and her unwanted advances on his part.

Lana and Chloe made their way across the street to a small bistro where they could talk in one of the private booths; after ordering their sandwiches they both sat in silence for several minutes, you could literally cut the tension with a knife.

“How’s your father, Lana?”

Lana was surprised at the fact that Chloe was trying to make friends despite trying to steal her man. “He’s good; in fact he’s decided to move permanently to Metropolis and is in the process of moving my mother here as well.”

“I’m so happy for you, Lana; you must be so excited.”

The waitress brought their food and then promptly left; as they ate Lana decided it was time to drop the hammer. “Chloe, how about we just drop the act and talk about what’s really going on here?”

Chloe stopped in the middle of eating her sandwich with a puzzled look on her face. “I don’t understand, Lana?”

“Is that really how you want to play this, Chloe?”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Lana; I’m not playing any games.”

Lana put her sandwich down and regarded Chloe through hooded eyes, drumming her fingernails on the tablecloth. “Fine, have it your way, Chloe; but, Clark and I don’t have secrets from each other, that because we love each other and trust each other; he told me about your inappropriate touching and how you’ve been coming on to him.”

Chloe’s face got white as a ghost as she looked at Lana; obviously this was the last thing she had expected to happen. “Lana, I don’t know what Clark has told you; but, I assure you that I’ve haven’t….”

“Save it, Chloe; you’re not the first person I thought of as a friend who has betrayed me; this is not a discussion, this is a confrontation; and I’m here to tell you to back the hell off! Clark is my man, and he’s not available to you as anything other than friend or colleague; got it?”

A change suddenly came across Chloe’s face as she seemed to go through some form of transformation; any pretext that she was Lana’s friend just went out the window. “And how would you know how to satisfy a man like, Clark? I’ll bet you haven’t even taken him to bed yet have you?”

Lana’s jaw dropped open at the turn the conversation has taken. “Chloe, what the devil?”

“Oh, get over it, Lana; how long do u think a robust man like Clark is going to wait around before you decide to give it up? Why don’t you just step aside and let a real woman satisfy his needs, then you can go back to your paintings and dreaming about a real man.”

Lana stood abruptly and threw her soda in Chloe’s face, which caused Chloe to jump over the table and tackle Lana; a cat fight ensued which took 4 waiters to break up. Lana and Chloe were ordered out of the restaurant and instructed to not come back.

“This isn’t over, Chloe!”

“I’d be disappointed if it was you little tart; I’ll be sure to give Clark you’re regards!”

Chloe stormed off to the Planet as Lana trembled in rage, for the first time in her life she wanted to do harm to another human being….

[Nemu]

wel be my guest and kick her ass Lana...

or better yet get on your phone and call Clark before the twit arrive back in the newsroom...

then Clark will be able to kick her ass himself...

[SVsleuth]

I don't know what to make of this new Chloe. This sudden desire to go after Clark seems really strange to me. I really can't think of what else to say. Just so long as Clark & Lana stay together.

[NYC300Z]

wow what the devil is right...Chloe has a serious problem...what will Clark and Lana do now?

PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Great Chapter!!!

[SVsleuth]

Will we get an update today, Brian?

[Nemu]

you know that is a good question Steph... I hope so too...

[SVsleuth]

Steph pops in again....look around...sighs... oh, well, I guess Brian is busy.....


***
Steph pops in on Monday... STILL no update. Hopefully this means things are going SO well in your personal life that you don't have time for fantasy stories. That would be better than you being overworked & too stressed or sick or something. Please remember us soon. You've got me so well trained to look for an update every Sunday....

Can you at least give us a clue about when you expect to have more ready? Thanks. :)

[SVsleuth]

Briiiii....an,

I'm back again. It's Sunday again. I can't believe you missed a week, & didn't even come in to tell us there wouldn't be one. Gee, you must be in love or something, to forget all about us! :p Please come say "Hi" anyway. We won't bite your head off if there isn't an update. But we would like to know what to expect. Thanks.

[The Black Cat]

Please!!! Pms!!!

[CaptainObvious]

Really like this story (even though I've been terribly lacking with chiming in!!)

Chloe seems to be off her rocker, so not sure what gives there. Lana obviously tried to nip it in the bud with Chloe but I think it requires more assistance from Clark. Chloe doesn't stand a chance in hell going after Clark.

Interesting perspective that Lana could care less if her Mom moves to Metropolis or not.

Post soon please!

[SVsleuth]

Hi, Brian,

Can you please just pop in here and say, "Hi, I'm not dead, just busy" - because it is SO not like you to just disappear for weeks on end, so you make me worry that something is really wrong. Are you sick, or just fed up with everything Smallville, or what? Please, just give us an "I'm ok". Thanks.

[Nemu]

I agree with Steph...

Brian you really need to give us some news... either to tell us that it is the end or anything...

[SVsleuth]

Brian.... latest spoilers show that the project involved in Lana's arc on Smallville this season is called PROMETHEUS!!! They stole from you, Brian!!!
What do you think of THAT?

[SVsleuth]

no word? :(

[Nemu]

Nope no words...

Guess we have to face reality that Brian has left the building...

[The Black Cat]

Nooo!!! I hope he's OK

[treker]

Chapter 29




“Choices”



Lana had wanted to run straight to the planet and stop Chloe from getting to Clark; but the manager of the restaurant wanted someone to pay for the damages caused by their scuffle and he also wanted a police report filed. So, while Lana dealt with all that Chloe was busy around the corner in the alley rubbing her face against the brick wall. The result was dried blood and enough bruising and cuts to make it look like she had been thoroughly beaten.



Slipping in the side door she made her way up the stairs so as not to attract any attention to herself until she reached Clark; once she exited the stairs she staggered and half stumbled her way down the hall until she fell into the arms of Perry White who was a mere 10 feet from Clark’s desk. “Chloe, great Caesar’s ghost; what happened to you?”



Clark turned at the sound of Perry’s voice and looked at Chloe in shock and utter disbelief. “Chloe, what happened to you? And where’s Lana?”



Chloe played her role to the hilt as she moaned as if staying conscious was difficult for her. “She’s….at…..the…..restaurant…..across……the……stree t.”



“Is she hurt also?”



Chloe just shook her head no. “Not….hurt. She…..did……this……to…….me…..”



Perry looked horrified and shocked; but Clark on the other hand smelled a rat. Using his Super hearing Clark could hear how steady Chloe’s heart beat was, if she had been brutalized the way she looked like she had her heart should have been in an irregular beat; and further he used his enhanced vision to look at her wounds on a microscopic level and saw the fragments of brick left in her face and also noticed that her hands were in perfect shape, he reasoned that a woman being beaten so savagely would have fought tooth and nail to get her assailant off her and yet her fingernails looked as though she had just come from the salon.



“Drop the act, Chloe.”



Perry looked up at Clark in utter shock. “What’s with you, Kent? Can’t you see how badly she’s been hurt?”



“Look at her hands, Perry; do those look like the hands of someone who has been in a fight for her life? No, she’s play acting for us, I know those wounds are real; but they’re self inflicted to make it look like someone had attacked her, a certain person named Lana Lang.”



Perry did indeed look at Chloe’s hands and found the same evidence that Clark had found; looking down at one of her hands Perry could see what Clark was talking about. Her hands looked perfectly manicured and yet her face was a mess, how was that even possible?



“Chloe, could you please explain to me in all the name that’s holy how you can look like you’ve been through hell and yet your fingernails are in such perfect shape?”



“Perry, it’s not what you think.”



Perry stood up and towered over Chloe. “And how can it possibly get any worse than what I already think, Miss Sullivan?”



“Perry, please, you don’t understand!”



Perry just stood over Chloe and shook his head. “You’re right, Chloe; I don’t understand; you were friends with both Clark and Lana, how could you do this to them?”



“Because she doesn’t deserve him; he’s special.”



“You’re right, Chloe; Clark is special, he’s special enough to recognize what you were doing and call it what it was; a desperate attempt by a morally bankrupt woman, a woman I once was proud to call a reporter and friend, and whom now I can’t stand to even look at.”



Turning in one swift motion, Perry turned his back on Chloe and walked back to his office, his shoulders slumped in a way that looked as if he had just lost his best friend; Chloe watched him go and remembering the look on Clark’s face she had a sudden realization; she had lost the respect and friendship of two people she called dear friends. “My god, what have I done?”



As Chloe was realizing just how far she had fallen, both literally and figuratively, Clark had made his way out of the Daily Planet building and across the street to the restaurant that Lana and Chloe had eaten at; It was still unorganized chaos as the police were trying to pacify the owner while Lana stood in the middle of the whole fracas trying to reassure everyone that the damages would be covered.



“Would a check be sufficient to cover your inconvenience?”



Everyone looked over at Clark standing in the doorway; Lana had never seen a more beautiful sight in her life and the police and the restaurant owner were similarly impressed. “You don’t even know how much the damages are going to be, Sir!”



“It doesn’t matter, the lady is with me and so I am assuming full financial responsibility for this disaster; provided, of course, there are no charges pressed against the young lady?”



The police looked to the manager who merely shrugged. “As long as the damages are paid for I don’t care, as long as the young lady promises to never come back.”



“Deal.”



Clark wrote out his check and took Lana out of the restaurant and walked her into the park down by the Lake where they first met. “I take it Chloe made a scene?”



“Whatever gave you that idea?” The look on Lana’s face told Clark everything he needed to know about that situation.



“She pulled a similar stunt when she got back to the newsroom.”



“Meaning what exactly?”



Clark thought about not telling Lana what Chloe had done, but he had promised to never lie to her again so keeping a secret that she could easily find out from Perry just didn’t seem to make any sense. “She messed up her own face, I assume on a brick wall; to make it look like you had beaten her within an inch of her life.”



“She did what?! Oh, Clark, I hope you know that I would never…”



“Don’t worry, Lana; I spotted the fact that it was an act; mostly because I know you’d never do that to anyone, but, also because while her wounds were real on her face, her hands and fingernails looked like she had just come from a salon; there’s no way you could convince me that a woman was in a knock down drag out fight and have manicured fingernails.”



Despite her shock at what Chloe had done, she was very impressed that Clark had sniffed out the truth of what Chloe had tried to pull tonight. “I just don’t know how I could have misjudged her so badly?”



“You and me both, Lana; I had called her friend, but now I can’t even stand to look at the woman; and I’m not the only one, Perry is so disillusioned with her that I don’t know what he’s going to do.”



Lana wished that she could feel sorry for Chloe but she just didn’t have it in herself to feel any sympathy for the woman who had just tried to steal her Clark from her; the realization of what had just occurred caused a revelation of monumental proportions; Clark had total faith in her to the point that he had denied his closest friends word about how she had attacked another human being merely because Clark loved and trusted her; she had never felt such warmth and trust in her live as she did at this moment in the knowledge that the man that she loved would always think the best of her no matter what the evidence said.



“What’s going to happen to, Chloe?”



Clark was silent for a very long time as they walked arm in arm around their special lake; Clark looked up at the sky for a long time before finally answering her. “I don’t know; she didn’t break any laws but I have my doubts as to whether Perry White will want to continue to employ someone as a reporter who has such a problem with the truth where it concerns those closest to them; how would he be able to trust her objectivity regarding what goes into print at the Planet?”



Lana hadn’t considered that Chloe could lose her job over what she considered to be a very private matter. “Is it really that serious?”



“The Planet’s word is its bond; the people have to be able to trust that what we put into print is the truth and nothing but; Chloe has destroyed her reputation tonight and as a result she may very well have destroyed her career in the process.”



Lana wrapped her arms around Clark and buried her face in his shoulder. “Would you think less of me if I say I don’t care?” Clark rested the side of his face against her temple and slowly rubbed her back. “No, Chloe destroyed whatever good feelings we both had for her along with her reputation.”



Lana looked up at Clark’s face and thought she had never seen anything more handsome in her life. “Clark, would you do me a favor?” Clark just looked at her arching one eyebrow.



“Would you take me for a flight tonight? The sky is so clear and the stars so bright; it would be so romantic to be in the sky with you with the full moon on the horizon.”



In response, Clark picked Lana up in his arms and launched them both into the sky, higher and higher they went until the city lights were just a dim memory; they floated in the air illuminated dimly by the full moon rising in the background; Clark and Lana kissed and swayed listening to the music of their hearts; they didn’t care what tomorrow would bring, they only cared about this moment in time and the feelings they both shared, one heart beating as one in two bodies they declared their love for each other….

[The Black Cat]

Awesome chapter!!! I'm glad you updated

[treker]

Chapter 30


“Laura”


The next morning Lana woke with a satisfied grin on her face; she had never felt so secure in her life as she did now in her relationship with Clark. They had passed a very big test last night; the test that every couple needed to pass in order move into the phase of their relationship where they started looking toward the future, a future where they started planning for their lives together.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Lana was about to make some breakfast when there was a knock on her door. Expecting to see the love of her life she was delighted to see the other man in her life, her father Lewis Lang. “Daddy, what a wonderful surprise.”

After giving his daughter a big bear hug he looked at her in trepidation. “I hope you still feel that way after I ask you this favor.” Lana looked at her father in concern. “Is something wrong, Daddy?”

“That depends on your point of view, pumpkin; I’m picking your mother up from the airport this morning and I could use your moral support at the airport.”

The smile that had been on Lana’s face suddenly vanished at the thought of having to confront her mother; especially since her mother was being forced to relocate from her beloved New York to the farmlands of Metropolis, Kansas. “Oh, Daddy; do I really have to?”

Lewis looked at his daughter in sympathy. “Normally I wouldn’t ask this of you, Lana; but it will probably take the both of us to handle her seeing as she was so opposed to this move.”

Lana turned her back on her father and walked over to the window; she opened the glass and took in the morning air listening to the sounds of the waking city. “I don’t see why she has to come here in the first place.” Lana immediately regretted saying the words as soon as they left her lips; but, she didn’t have any good feelings about her mother and she was sure she felt the same way about her.

“That’s beneath you, Lana; she’s your mother and you’re her daughter. You both need to find a way to get around this animosity that you both have for each other.”

Lana turned and faced her father knowing that she had hurt him with her words, which was the only thing she regretted. “I’m sorry, Daddy; I know she’s my mother and you love her dearly, but she destroyed any good feelings I had about her a very long time ago.”

Lewis walked over to Lana, he faced her as the sounds of the city drifted in through the window; Lewis put his hands on his daughters shoulders and gently rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve never understood why you two can’t get along, you’re both family for the love of god.”

“Maybe that’s part of the problem, Daddy.” Lewis just looked at Lana in confusion. “Whatever are you talking about, Pumpkin?”

Lana turned and walked over to the breakfast table that the hotel had sent up for her breakfast, Lana poured some juice for herself and her father before walking back over to her father and giving him his drink. “What I mean is that I think Mother has always resented me on a subconscious level; because raising me was preventing her from having the life she had always dreamed about. Living the good life in New York City; and a child puts a serious crimp in her shopping and socializing.”

Lewis tried to come up with a good explanation or justification for what Lana thought of her mother; but in truth he knew that Lana knew her mother only too well. He had long since given up any hope of bringing out any feelings of motherhood from his wife; which was why he knew this forced move would, at least in the beginning, be hell on earth for them all; but it was necessary.

“There’s always time to hash all this out later, and I think it’s far past the time that we all sit down as a family and talk this through; but that day isn’t today. Now, it’s time to greet your mother and pick her up from the Airport.” And pray she was in a receptive mood; that last thought he kept to himself as he took Lana out the door and down to his waiting car to go to the airport.

While Lewis was driving Lana to the Airport; Clark had a special errand to accomplish; it was something he had been thinking about all night, in fact he hadn’t even gone to bed as he sat in the garden on top of his building and sought guidance from people whom had been dead for many centuries (at least as how Earth measured time); and finally he had come to the decision that he had been moving toward ever since he had emerged from his training at the fortress, a decision that he had been destined to make ever since he had met and fallen head over heels in love in Lana Lang.

Clark headed to downtown Metropolis; specifically to the highest end Jewelry store’s that Metropolis had to offer; Clark had cleared his schedule with Perry so he had all day to find the perfect ring for a woman that Clark saw as flawless; and her engagement ring should be equally flawless as well.

Walking into the jewelers was a very intimidating sight for Clark; There was a crystal chandelier hanging dead center in the shop as well as mood music that made Clark feel like he was at an elegant ball; he was greeted by a very pretty young woman in a dress that just said money; it probably cost more than half his year’s salary at the Planet. “May I help you, Sir?”

Clark tugged at the collar of his shirt and wondered if this was such a hot idea after all. “Well, yes; you see I’m here to look for a ring.”

The saleswoman smiled in a way that made Clark uncomfortable. “Well, of course you are sir; and aren’t you intelligent for coming here first. May I ask what type of ring you’re looking for?”

“I’m looking for an engagement ring.”

The saleswoman’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the mention of an engagement ring; Clark was thinking that she had seen dollar signs when he told her what he was looking for an engagement ring for Lana, at that moment he knew he would have to be careful so that this pretty woman didn’t send him to the poor house in his desire to get Lana the token of their love that she deserved.

“Did you have anything special in mind?”

This was the one thing that had kept Clark up half the night; he needed to make sure that Lana’s ring was unique, one of a kind; something that no woman had ever received in her life and something that she would treasure forever. “Yes, what I want is a ring with a center cut princess diamond with our matching birthstones on either side as a symbol of our love for each other.”

The saleswoman who originally saw dollar signs now found her heart and couldn’t believe that any man could be so romantic as to think of such a thing. “Let me see what I can do for you, sir; this is going to be fairly expensive but I’ll see what I can do in order to keep the costs down.”

As Clark was looking over the ring to make Lana’s heart swoon; Lana was arriving at the airport with her father to greet the one woman that Lana should love but whom in fact she couldn’t stand the sight of. Father and daughter walked in silence as they made their way toward the off ramp that Laura Lang would emerge from her plane; they both prayed that Laura Lang had used the flight to make peace with the fact that she was being forcibly moved from her beloved New York to the farming city of Metropolis Kansas.

“There’s still time to change your mind and tell mother she can return to New York…”

Lewis just looked at Lana with a pained expression on his face. “Lana, this family has been fractured for too many years and it’s time that we all come together and heal our family.”

Lana just kept walking down the concourse until finally she said the one thing her father had been dreading to hear from her. “…some things are unforgiveable and beyond redemption, Father.”

Lewis Lang had always known that something horrific had happened between Lana and his wife; but, despite his best efforts, he had never been able to get either of them to admit what that event had been; secretly, that was what was behind his forcing his wife to move to Metropolis, he was heartsick over the distance between his wife and his daughter and if he was ever going to heal the rift he needed to get them both in the same place at the same time.

As Father and Daughter stood in the waiting area, they saw the plane that had arrived from New York taxi to the terminal and waiting impatiently as the gangplank hooked up to the plane to allow the passengers to disembark to the terminal. To Lana it seemed as if she were on Death Row waiting for her execution; she didn’t want to be here and she really did not want her mother to walk off that plane, the rift between them was too deep and too wide to ever bridge; she knew it and her mother knew it, but she knew her father would never accept it.

The door to the gangplank finally opened and slowly one person after another exited the ramp to waiting family and friends; As more and more people exited the ramp, Lana’s hopes that her mother had decided not to come was growing in the pit of her stomach; however, it was a hope that was dashed as her mother walked through the door with a decided scowl on her face. Laura Lang stood in a regal fashion as a queen would surveying her subjects, she had a cold look to her face and an even colder demeanor; except where it concerned her husband. Lewis Lang approached his wife and a hint of a smile came to her face as they embraced; however, it was a short lived moment as Laura Lang took in the appearance of her daughter with a disapproving expression on her face.

Lana approached her mother and embraced her; but there was no warmth from either mother nor daughter; it was obvious to even a perfect stranger that these two women didn’t like each other, in fact anyone could see that they couldn’t stand the sight of each other and wanted to be anywhere the other woman wasn’t. “How was your flight, Mother?”

“It was long and excruciating. Now, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time that requires Lewis forcibly moving me to this god forsaken city?”

Lana started grinding her teeth together as she had to bite back a retort to her mother’s jab. “Any problems I have had in Metropolis have been resolved and you don’t have to move here on my account.”

Laura’s disapproving expression was colder than ice as Lana stepped back from her mother. “It seems your father doesn’t agree.”

“We both know why Father wants you here, Mother; and it has nothing to do with any difficulties I may or may not be experiencing and has everything to do with the distance between us. It’s just unfortunate that he can’t accept that it is a situation that will never have a remedy to his satisfaction.”

Lewis had stood by watching the confrontation between the two women he loved most in the world until he couldn’t take it anymore. “I’ve had just about enough of this. Lana try to be civil and Laura, that’s no way to talk to your daughter.”

Laura turned to her husband. “And just why did you think things would be any different than what they are, Lewis? You knew this would happen, the only way Lana and I can maintain a civil relationship is by putting as much distance between us as possible; and that is a situation that you have made impossible.”

“Because this is no way for a family to behave; you two are Mother and Daughter and I’ve had enough of this coldness the two of you display toward each other.”

Lana had just about enough Mother and Daughter bonding as she could stand; she embraced her father and ignored her Mother. “I’m going back to the car, Father; I’ll wait for you both there and then we can go back to the Hotel…”

Lana turned abruptly and walked away; leaving Lewis and Laura Lang watching her leave; Lewis with a look of concern on his face while Laura had a look of utter disdain on her face for her impetulant daughter…

[Nemu]

Woah! I didn't know I was holding the update hostage lol...

This chapter goes from happy to grrrr.... The Clark part was nice... and the ring's design kinda looked like the one I had in my first TNM fic...

Now I am like Lewis... I wonder what could have happened between Lana and Laura to make them litterally hate and loathe each other...

[The Black Cat]

Another aweome chapter!!! PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 31


“Secrets”

Clark walked into the Daily Planet building with a spring to his step and hope in his heart; he gripped the black velvet ring box as if his life depended on it, In reality he realized that his physical life wasn’t in any real danger, however his heart was contained in the little black box and what a certain brunette thought about the contents and the answer to a very personal question.

Clark was lost in his own thoughts as he entered the elevator, so much so that he barely acknowledged the greetings and flirts from all the young women who were constantly throwing themselves at him; In reality he wished they would stop, his heart was locked up and taken; he couldn’t even conceive of looking at another woman the way he looked at Lana.

As Clark emerged from the elevator he became aware of a strange sense of foreboding in the atmosphere on the news floor; usually he could hear the hustle of noise of news happening, but this morning there was nothing but silence and he could swear he heard some sobbing and crying from some females from up ahead. As he rounded a corner he saw that everyone working on the floor had surrounded Chloe’s desk and were taking turns hugging her and crying. On her desk Clark could see all her possessions packed away in several boxes and came to the only decision possible; either Chloe had been fired or she had quit.

As everyone noticed Clark standing a few feet away, they all became very quiet as the tension was so thick that you could have cut it with a knife; Chloe took this opportunity to pull Clark aside to a private office and have a final conversation with her former friend. “What’s going on, Chloe?”

Chloe was understandably as she thought about what to say to Clark. “Look, Clark; there’s no easy way to say this; but, after talking with Perry we both decided that it was in both my best interest and in the best interest of the Planet if I wasn’t here anymore, so I resigned this morning.”

Clark’s emotions were a jumble at the moment, on the one hand he was sad to see her go but on the other he was grateful because having her around would just be very awkward after what she had tried to do To Lana. “Where will you go?”

“Perry has managed to get me an interview with the Times in New York.”

Clark’s eye’s opened wide at the mention of the New York Times. “That’s impressive, Chloe; I hope you get it, and I hope you’ll finally find some peace and happiness in your life.”

Chloe was blown away by Clark’s kindness and gracious way he was letting her leave without recriminations; but then, being the man he was, she didn’t expect any less from him. “Thank you, Clark and please accept my apology for what I did and tell Lana how sorry I am.”

“I’ll pass it along, Chloe; but to be honest I’m not sure how she’ll take it, you did hurt her deeply.” Chloe knew that Clark was right; she could only hope that one day they would accept her friendship back after they had all put space and many years behind them.

“Good luck, Chloe; I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Clark turned and walked out of the office but unknown to Chloe, Clark could hear her mutter under her breath ‘I already did.’

As Clark wandered back onto the news floor he noticed that everyone was back at their respective desks going about the days business; it was at this point that Clark noticed an extremely beautiful woman staring intently at him; he walked over and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Clark Kent; is there something I can help you with?”

“Why do you think I need anything from you?”

“The way you’ve been staring at me leads me to that conclusion.”

It was at this point that Perry came out of his office. “Ah, Kent; I see you’ve found your new partner in crime.”

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t think I was going to let you work alone did you, Clark? This is the Planets latest find, Faora Huul; I hope I pronounced that right my dear?”

Faora hide her hatred for Perry as she merely smiled and nodded her head; Clark just shrugged his shoulders, he preferred to work alone but Perry was the one calling the shots so he knew he didn’t have any say so in the matter. “We’ll have to compare notes later, Faora; I have a personal matter to take care of.”

Faora merely nodded as Clark excused himself and walked toward the elevator; Faora looked at Clark with murderous fury in her eyes. “There will be plenty of time to compare notes, Kal-el.”

Lana rode back to the hotel in silence despite her father’s every effort to draw her into the conversation; what little conversation there was, for Laura was being just as tight lipped as Lana was being. “Will Clark be stopping by the hotel later, Lana?”

Lewis had finally touched on the one subject that put a smile on his daughter’s face. “He didn’t say one way or another.”

“Clark? Who the hell is Clark?”

Lana slipped back into silence again. “Clark is Lana’s boyfriend, dear.”

Laura just started laughing. “Lana? A boyfriend? Is that some sort of joke? What man would have anything to do with her after what happened with Lex Luthor.”

Lana looked back at her mother in a way that should have disintegrated her on the spot, but she held her tongue as Lewis was now becoming very angry. “I’ve just about had enough of you putting our daughter down all the time, she’s your flesh and blood and you shouldn’t be treating her like this.”

“I’ll treat her any way I feel like, and if you don’t like it Lewis then you can send me back to New York.”
Sending Laura back to New York was completely out of the question and she knew that, deep down he wondered if her attitude was designed to try and force his hand and let her leave; and deep down in the pit of his stomach there was a small voice telling him that he should let her leave; but he also knew that his family was fractured and he needed to find a way to heal the relationship between Laura and Lana.

As they arrived at the Hotel, Lana quickly exited the vehicle and was about to run into the hotel when a familiar voice stopped her dead in her tracks. “Hey beautiful, miss me?”

Lana turned and saw Clark stepping out of the shadows, he was just what she needed right now as she ran into his arms and buried her face in his chest; even though her face was hidden Clark could tell that she was sobbing. As he stroked the back of her head he watched a tall slender woman walk by with a sneer on her face, Lewis followed close behind with a look that spoke volumes to Clark.

“I take it that is your mother?”

Lana just nodded her head but refused to pull her head from Clark’s chest. “Lana, what’s going on?”

Lana finally looked up at Clark with red, tear soaked eyes. “Please don’t ask me that, Clark; we promised to always be honest with each other but I just can’t talk about this, not yet.”

Clark didn’t like it; he could see that whatever the problem was it was tearing her apart but he also knew that forcing the truth out of her could cause almost as much damage as the secret itself. “Alright Lana, but you need to get this out of your system and soon, I can see that it’s ripping you apart.”

“I know, but I just can’t; not yet.”

Putting his arm around Lana he walked with her into the hotel; He promised Lana he would stop pressing her about what the problem was but he didn’t say anything about dragging that information out of her mother….

[Nemu]

Hmm... Adding more trouble to the mix... I hope whatever the new reporter is wont make it more difficult for the Clana... For supes maybe though...

I also hope the Laura problem will be shed some more soon...

Good chapter too...

PPMS!!

[SVsleuth]

Finally caught all up, Brian. Sorry I took so long.

Well, let's see.... what Chloe did was unforgivable...and for that she gets to go work for the NY Times? What kind of justice is that?

Seems like Chloe somehow hand picked her successor, to leave Clark a thorn in the side. What a spiteful woman! Is this Faora the wife of Zod, like on the show? - & inhabitng Lois's body? Or is this completely different? Guess we'll see.

What in the world could have happened between Laura & Lana for things to be this upsetting to Lana? I wish she'd open up to Clark.

Love his ring idea. I hope he finds the perfect moment to propose. Looking fwd to the engagement.

I wonder if there is ANY hope for true reconciliation in the Lang family. Guess we'll find out eventually.

So glad you're back, Brian. PPMS!

[The Black Cat]

Excellent chapter!!! PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 32


“A Killer Walks Among Us”

Lana and Clark walked into the hotel room in the middle of a knock down drag out fight between Lewis and Laura. “…YOU’RE NOT GOING BACK TO NEW YORK AND YOU’RE TO STOP INSULTING LANA AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

“YOU CAN’T TELL ME HOW TO ACT, YOU’RE MY HUSBAND NOT MY KEEPER!”

Lana started backing out of the door and into the hall but was stopped by the unmoving form of Clark Kent; Lana turned and looked up into his eyes. “It’s okay, Lana; I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Silence engulfed the room as both Lewis and Laura heard Clark speak and turned to see who had interrupted their ‘discussion’. “Clark, I wasn’t expecting you and Lana to come right up to the room.”

“Obviously.” Clark took Lana’s hand and closed the door as he guided Lana to the couch and indicated for her to sit while he dealt with her parents. “Don’t you think that screaming at the top of your lungs for everyone to hear is rather inappropriate only a few hours after arriving?”

“AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT IS APPROPRIATE IN HOW I TREAT MY HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER?”

Clark approached Laura Lang until he was mere inches away from her, Laura had to look up at the towering young man as the top of her head only came up to Clark’s midpoint on his chest. “Whom do I have to be Mrs. Lang in order to ask you to act like a civilized human being and mother?”

Lana looked on in shock as her mother visibly backed up several steps, something that Lana has never seen her mother do before; in all her life Lana had never seen Laura Lang back up from anyone at any time, and yet here she was being intimidated by Clark.

“I love Lana, Mrs. Lang; and nobody, and I repeat, nobody will speak to her the way I’ve heard you speaking to and about her as long as I’m around; she’s you’re daughter and you will show her the proper respect that she is due, the same respect you would expect from another member of your family.”

Laura’s face turned a deep crimson as the rage boiling under the surface showed itself in the color of her skin; she opened and closed her mouth several times as she wanted nothing better than to rip into this pompous young man and tear him to shreds; but, she also knew that she couldn’t fight Clark, Lewis and Lana all at the same time so she turned in a fit and stormed into the bedroom. It was at that point that Clark exhaled a sigh of relief and turned to face the astonishment on both Lewis and Lana’s face.

“That was some display, Clark; I’ve never seen my wife rendered speechless before.” Lana just jumped up from the couch and ran into Clark’s arms; she looked up into his eyes. “Whatever possessed you to talk to mother like that?”

“It was exactly what I told your mother, Lana; no one talks to you that way if I have anything to say about it.”

Lewis looked in awe at the young man who had captured his daughter’s heart, and if he wasn’t a total supporter of their relationship before he was now; any man who would stand up to a woman’s mother that way and just shred her for being a poor excuse for a mother was a man that he wanted in her daughters life; Lewis was convinced that Clark Kent would do anything for his daughter no matter what it took. Walking over to the TV he turned it on to check the news and to give the couple a moment of privacy, that was when he saw something horrific on the news; the anchor was detailing a slaughter in a downtown alley where 6 men were brutally murdered.

Clark heard the report and walked over to look at what was going on. “What’s she doing there?”

Lana looked up at Clark. “Who are you talking about, Clark?”

“Faora.”

“Who’s Faora?”

“My new writing partner at the Planet, Perry introduced me to her earlier today.” Lana looked at the Television and saw an incredibly attractive redhead who looked like a body builder. “She looks very attractive.”

Clark looked down at Lana. “I prefer brunettes.”

Lana elbowed Clark in the ribs to which Clark pretended to double over in pain. “And just you remember that little fact too mister.”

Clark laughed and then stuck his hand in his pocket and clutched the velvet box which housed Lana’s engagement ring; he had wanted to propose to her tonight, but the timing was all wrong. What with the conflict with Laura and now the massacre downtown and Faora being there to cover it and he wasn’t, there would be time for it later and he needed to get to the crime scene. “I have to get downtown, Lana; I don’t want to leave you but I have too.”

“I understand, Clark; Call me later?”

“I won’t go to bed until I do; I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Clark and Lana embraced and then kissed each other goodnight; Clark shook Lewis’ hand and then went out the door to track down what was happening downtown. Lewis turned to Lana and nodded his head. “If I ever had any doubts about that boy those doubts have been erased by what he did here tonight; I’d trust him with your life Lana and whatever future you and Clark have together I want you to know that you have my full support.”

Lana was floored by her father’s unwavering support of Clark but was immensely grateful for it. “Thank you, Daddy; that means more to me than I can possibly say.”

Outside the hotel, Clark ducked into a dark alley and changed into Superman before taking to the sky and speeding over the downtown area; as he approached the area in question Clark started examining the area, however, unknown To Superman Faora turned at the sound that he made as he flew across the sky, she looked to the sky and used her telescopic vision to see where he was. It’s about time you showed up, Kal-el; how many of these lowly humans do I have to slay before you show your disgusting face?

Superman circled the block a few times before landing in a nearby alley and rounding a corner to find Faora talking to the police officers who were investigating what could have happened to the men in this alley.

“Hi Faora, I came as soon as I saw the news report; any leads so far?”

Faora turned and faked concern over the fate of the humans she had slain. “No, Clark; oh, it’s so horrible and the police don’t have a clue as to what happened here.”

Clark walked down the alley as far as the police would let him and then he used his x-ray vision and telescopic vision to examine the bodies and the alley in which the bodies lay; Clark knew at once that this was no ordinary killer. The bodies were torn apart by someone with super human strength, and by the way the bodies were torn apart Clark had to think that the killer was psychotic because it looked like the person took their time and was enjoying the pain they were inflicting.

“Officer, has there been other slayings like this recently?”

“No, Mr. Kent; this is the first and we’d appreciate it if you didn’t turn this into some serial killer story in order to sell newspapers.”

Clark turned in shock at the officer’s comment. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

“You’re a newspaper man aren’t you?”

“The difference is I work for the Planet and not the Inquistor.”

The cop just snorted and turned as he walked away. “Seen one newspaper man and you’ve seen them all.” Faora joined Clark as he watched the delusional police officer walk away.

“What’s wrong, Clark?”

Clark looked down at her as he turned back and started walking back to the street. “I just wish that officer was wrong in what he was thinking, but, unfortunately he is more right than wrong in his viewpoints of a lot of reporters out there; fortunately we don’t have that problem at the planet, everyone there is of a higher sense of morality.”

Faora watched Clark walk away and all she wanted to do was to rip his head off his shoulders and grind it into dust; but she knew it was too soon for that, it was to quick, too painless. The son of that bastard Jor-el of Krypton needed to suffer before he died; he needed to know fear and anguish of the worst kind before she finally ended his life once and for all.

“Hey, Clark; wait up.” Faora hurried to catch up to Clark as they headed back to the Daily Planet.

[The Black Cat]

That was great!!! PPMS!!!

[ClanaGirl]

it truly was amzing if you think about it! i mean the woman ccame for Kal-El i just love the sound of the Name Kal-El don't you?

[treker]

Chapter 33

“Secrets of the past”

Clark’s mind was racing at the speed of light; the incident in the alley (if you can call it that) had him agitated. The cold blooded murder of 6 men was just not something he was used to dealing with; sure, he had seen men kill other men but never so many in one spot on purpose; what could they have possibly have done that would cause someone to want to slaughter so many people?

“Penny for your thoughts, Clark?”

Clark looked down at Faora and thought he saw a glimmer of something in her eyes, for a moment he could have sworn that what he saw was unbridled rage and hatred; of course anyone would feel that way after seeing what she had seen in that alley, so he brushed it off. “I was just wondering what those men could have done to have justified what was done to them; it makes no sense to me at all.”

“Yeah, I can’t understand it myself.” Or, she thought to herself, they served the purpose of letting me relieve the rage in my heart and let me rip them to shreds just as I want to do to you Kal-el, son of that two timing bastard Jor-el.

“Did the police give you any clue as to who could have perpetuated that slaughter?”

Faora looked up at Clark dying to rip into him and let him know just who the god was that had taken those worthless ‘Men’ to shreds. “I wish they had, Clark; we need to find that monster and lock him up before they do this to someone else.”

“I intend on making sure that happens, Faora.”

Faora smiled like an innocent child; but behind the facade she was planning on driving a stake through Kal-el’s heart; but the only problem with that was that he was just as invulnerable as she was and suffered from the same weakness; and she couldn’t exploit that weakness without exposing herself to the same danger. That was when an idea dawned in her brain, an idea formed of cruelty in the worst form; if she couldn’t harm Kal-el physically then why couldn’t she make sure that Clark’s heart destroyed and thus crushing his spirit. “Thinking of those murdered men makes me think of their poor families; do you have family Clark?”

“My adoptive parents died in an automobile accident many years ago.” Faora’s spirit was crushed at the thought that her new plan to destroy Kal-el wasn’t going to happen. “But, I do have a girlfriend and it would kill me to think of that happening to her.”

“I’m sure nothing will happen to your lovely girlfriend, Clark; maybe you’ll introduce her to me one day soon?”

“I’m sure she would like that very much, Faora”

Faora smiled sweetly enough to fool Clark, but inside her mind a sinister laugh was going off as she started to form a plan for meeting this mysterious girlfriend; first she would befriend her, make her trust her, and then (even though she usually only slaughtered men) she would rip this woman apart piece by piece and leave the carnage for Kal-el to find and crush his spirit; and then her revenge against Jor-el will be complete.

While Faora was setting up Clark to have his world destroyed; Lana was having difficulty sleeping, and the reason for her troubles was sleeping in the room next to hers. Her father may be happy that Laura Lang was finally here with them but he was the only person that Lana knew that was grateful for that piece of information.

Lana paced back and forth in her bedroom until it was almost midnight and as much as she wished that Clark were here with her, if he was here she knew that he would insist that she tell him what was at the source of the animosity between her and her mother. And as much as she longed to tell Clark about what happened; how could she tell him when she can barely even admit it to herself; how does she tell the man that she loves what her mother did to her that faithful night when she was just 17 years old.

Lana walked to her window and looked out over the skyline of the city remembering what she dare not tell anyone, particularly not her father...

******* FLASHBACK ************

Lana Lang was a very happy young lady of 17; her father adored her and she loved her parents deeply, especially her mother. Lana thought her mother was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen and she wanted to grow up to be just like her.

Lana was picked up from school by her mother, which was unusual since her father usually picked her up. “Hi, Mother; Where’s daddy?”

“He had some work to do, honey; how was your day at school.”

Lana frowned since her beloved father was not here to greet her. “Fine.” Laura had seen this look on her face many times before and she wasn’t about to put up with it now; now that she had made a decision about Lana.

“Lana don’t frown, such a beautiful young woman should not cause frown lines.”

Lana perked up at the compliment her mother was giving her. “You really think I’m beautiful?”

“Of course you are, baby; you’re my daughter aren’t you? You think I’m pretty don’t you?” Lana looked over at her mother smiling. “You’re the most glamorous woman I’ve ever seen, Mother; I hope I grow up to be as pretty as you one day.”

Laura smiled at Lana in a way that made Lana uncomfortable; Lana couldn’t put her feelings into words but there was just something about the way her mother was looking at her that made her uncomfortable.

A short while later they both arrived at their home in the suburbs; their home was a typical picket fence 2 story home. As they entered the house Laura started looking around as if she were searching for something, it seemed curious to Lana. “What are you looking for, Mom?”

Finally satisfied that her husband wasn’t anywhere around the home, Laura turned her attention back to Lana. “It’s nothing, baby; but I do have a surprise for you, so run upstairs and change out of your school clothes.”

Laura’s sick smile came to her face as she heard Lana squeal in delight because she knew how much her daughter loved surprises; this surprise was going to be something that Lana would not see coming and her satisfaction was not of any concern to Laura, only her own satisfaction mattered to her at the moment. Walking with a determined gleam in her eye, Laura Lang made her way up the steps until she stood outside her daughters room; entering the room she saw Lana standing by her dresser with only her bra and underwear on; Lana turned as she saw her mother enter. “Mother, what are you doing in here?”

“I told you I had a surprise for you, sweetie.”

Lana was getting an uncomfortable feeling from the way her mother was acting. “Well, couldn’t you wait until I was finished changing?”

Laura walked over to Lana and ran her hands slowly up Lana’s arms. “I thought I could help you with that.”

“Mother, I’m 17; I think I’m perfectly capable of changing my own clothes.”

Lana tried to back up but Laura held her firm as her fingers moved under the straps of Lana’s bra and pulled them over her shoulders and down her arms. “MOTHER!!”

Laura suddenly pulled Lana into a full lip on lip open mouthed kiss, her tongue forcing its way into Lana’s mouth; Lana fought and struggled but it was no use as Laura was too strong for Lana to fight off; Lana screamed and cried as she pushed her mother back, Laura backed Lana against her dresser and would have taken her had there not been a noise from downstairs. “Laura? Lana? Where are my two favorite girls at?”

Laura backed away in terror as she realized that Lewis had unexpectedly come home and unless she did something drastic she would be caught in the act; turning back to a sobbing Lana she sneered at her daughter. “Tel anyone about this, your father, your friends, the police, anybody and first I’ll kill your father and then I’ll kill you; do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Lana looked at her mother in sheer terror, after what her mother had just tried to do to her she believed every word she had just said and vowed to never speak of what had just happened to anyone in order to save the life of her father and herself. “I swear no one will ever know about this as long as Daddy is safe.”

Lana ran to her bathroom and locked the door to sob and cry away her fears as Laura turned and went downstairs to fabricate some story about why Lana was so upset and to cover her tracks.

************ End Flashback ********************

Lana hadn’t thought of that night in a very long time, she thought she had put all the pain of what Laura Lang had done to her in the past; but that was impossible as long as her mother was in the same town as she was and her father insisted that they try and make peace; but how could she make peace with a woman like that?

Suddenly a noise caught her attention as she turned and saw her bedroom door open and her mother walk into her bedroom. “What do you think you’re doing, Mother? You know you are not allowed in my room without my permission.”

“We have to talk, Lana.”

“About what?”

Laura didn’t dare come more than a foot into her daughter’s bedroom. “You know about what we need to discuss, Lana. If you’re father is going to persist in this notion of keeping the two of us in the same town and continuing to socialize then it’s time we put the past behind us.”

“I have buried the past, Mother; for me it doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Who are you trying to kid, Lana; your attitude since I arrived has proven that you haven’t buried the past and there is a barely controlled rage dwelling under the surface and if you don’t get it under control your father is going to continue to press you to find out the cause.”

“And if he does are you going to carry out your threat? I wouldn’t recommend it; you will find that I am not the helpless little girl you attacked that faithful night all those years ago.”

Laura just stood there in silence looking for a way, any way to get her daughter to back down and see reason. “Isn’t there some compromise we can come too?”

Lana turned her back on her mother. “You made your choice that night, Mother; now you’ll just have to live with the decision you made and learn to live with the consequences of that action...”

[#7superherofan]

Wow, trecker, this is an amazing story. The characters's personalities are intriguing to say the least, especially those such as Lewis and Laura that you had to bring to life from scratch. Whew, quite the drama between Lana and her mother, now wonder Lana can't stand to be in the same room with her. I wonder if telling her father or Clark would help them to understand the animosity or make the situation worse. Faora is deliciously evil, though I wonder why she called Jor-El a two timing blankety blank?Please keep the posts coming, stories like this one are why I became and what keep me a devoted Clark/Lana fan.

[treker]

Chapter 34

“A Heartfelt Confession”

As the morning wore on it was becoming more and more difficult for Lana to stay in the same room as her mother; and as bad as that was it was nearly impossible to keep her father from seeing the tension, he had asked about it 4 times before the clock even reached 10 AM. Making up an excuse (for which she felt terrible about lying to her father about) she made a mad dash to get out of the hotel before she went insane.

Lana hailed a cab and directed him to take her to her old house, which had only just this morning been refurnished from the Lex Luthor disaster; and now with her home furnished she could get out of that god awful hotel and move into someplace that felt more like her (and getting away from her parents was an added bonus).

Once inside her home Lana breathed, really breathed for the first time since her mother had arrived; it felt so good, as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Lana thought it was amazing how such a simple thing such as a home could accomplish such a feat. The only other thing (or more accurately person) that could have done this for her was Clark; Thinking of Clark brought an ache to her chest, she wanted, no, she needed to have her love with her right now; Lana had decided that it was far past the time to tell him what had happened all those years ago in her bedroom, it was time for her to come clean and tell Clark how her Mother had tried to rape her.

Walking up the stairs to her bedroom, Lana walked over to the picture window that faced the Daily Planet building; opening the window she called out into the air. “Clark, can you hear me? I’m at my house and I desperately need you if you can get away from the paper.” Sitting down on the window’s ledge, Lana waited to see if Clark would hear her plea and come to her aid.

As Lana had been arriving at her house, Clark had been sitting at his desk across from Faora; she had been studying Clark, which he took as female curiosity, but in fact was his unknown enemy plotting a way to get to those he loved and ripping them from his life. Clark, for his part, had been holding the ring case that had Lana’s engagement ring; when Faora asked him what it was he merely said that it was nothing, but Faora knew he was lying so she used her x-ray vision to look inside the case and see the ring inside. Seeing the ring inside she deduced it’s meaning and started to smile; if she had any doubts about the impact of killing his girlfriend would have on him, they were erased upon seeing the ring.

“I was wondering when I would be able to meet your girlfriend, Clark.”

Clark looked up and across the desk at his nemesis and smiled. “I haven’t really discussed it with her yet; but I will this evening and we’ll see what we can arrange.”

It was at this point that Clark’s super hearing picked up Lana’s plea for him to come to her; but, Clark wasn’t the only one who heard Lana calling to Clark, Faora had also heard Lana calling out to Clark. “Is something wrong, Clark?”

“No, but I remembered that I do have a personal errand to run; I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Whatever you say, Clark.”

Watching him run down the hall, she used her x-ray vision again to see Clark slip into a stairwell access and superspeed up to the roof where he changed into his alternate personality of Superman; Just as Superman took to the sky’s Faora materialized on the roof right behind him. Waiting to make sure that he didn’t look back and see her following him, Faora finally took to the air herself and followed close enough to keep an eye on Superman but not close enough to see her unless he used his telescopic vision, which he wasn’t since he had no idea she was following him.

Faora watched as Superman approached a brownstone townhome on the top of the hill they were approaching; deciding to avoid detection she landed on the roof of the bank 3 blocks from Lana’s house; Superman never noticed her as his full attention had been on reaching Lana.

Lana saw Superman approaching and stood and backed away from the window and allowed Superman to fly in and land next to her; opening his arms to her, Lana ran into his arms and buried her face in massive chest and released all her pent up frustrations from the last 48 hours; Superman just stroked the back of her head and let her sob in his chest until she had gotten it all out of her system.

Eventually, Lana stopped sobbing and Clark pulled her head back and leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, each cheek and finally on the lips. “Now, what happened to put you in such a state?”

Lana sighed and looked deeply into Clark’s eyes, she had been determined to tell him the truth but now that the moment was here she was getting cold feet; how do you tell someone such a painful secret? But she knew that this was something that she had to do, Clark had put his very life in her hands by telling her his secret, how could she not give him the same level of trust? “I’ve been keeping a secret from you, Clark. It’s something I had wished to never to have to think about again; but the arrival of my Mother has brought it back with a vengeance and I need your support so I have to let you know what’s going on.”

Stroking the side of her face with the back of his hand, Clark guided her over to the loveseat by the window and sat down with her. “Whatever you have to tell me, I’m here for you Lana; you know you can trust me to be supportive.”

“I know, it’s just not easy to talk about; but could you do me a favor first. Change out of your Superman suit and back into Clark Kent; it’s kind of intimidating spilling my secret’s to Superman.”

Clark smiled in understanding as he stood and spun in a circle faster than the eye can follow and when he stopped he had his blue suit back on and his trademark Clark Kent glasses. “Better?”

“Much, thank you; you know, someday you’ll have to tell me how you do that.”

Sitting down next to her, Clark took her hand and waited for Lana to continue; Lana looked down at her hand in Clark’s and breathed in deeply and held it for a second before letting it out and trying to tell Clark what no one besides herself and her Mother knew about. “Well, you’ve seen the dysfunctional relationship I have with my Mother.” Clark nodded his head in agreement. “Well, that is no accident; there is a very specific reason as to the cause of our estrangement.”

Clark squeezed Lana’s hand to let her know he was here for her. “I’m listening.”

“It begins when I was just 17 years old; my Mother picked me up from school, which was unusual since my Dad was usually the one to give me a ride home.”

Clark’s eyes never left Lana’s as he held her gaze and encouraged her to continue as he sensed that this was something emotionally painful and Lana would need his strength to get through it.

“Mother told me that Daddy was called away on business; we talked on the way home; she had a strange look on her face as we talked, it made me very uncomfortable but I thought it must have been my imagination. When we got home she looked around as if she were searching for someone, when I asked her about it she told me it was nothing and instructed me to go to my room and change out of my school cloths as she had a surprise for me. I became very excited since back then I loved surprises, anyway, as I was in my room changing Mother suddenly walked into my room, I was only wearing my undergarments.”

Clark’s eyes began to narrow, he sensed where this was going and was afraid of what Lana was going to tell him next; he convinced himself that he must have been mistaken. “Why did she come into your room like that?”

“That’s what I was wondering and what I asked her; Before I knew what was happening she was next to me with her hands on my shoulders, before I could stop her she had slipped my bra off my shoulders. I tried to push her hands away and begged her to stop but she grabbed my hair and forced me into a passionate kiss; or at least it was passionate on her side, I was so disgusted and afraid that I thought I was going to throw up. But, the worst part was still to come as she forced me back up against my dresser and then shoved her tongue down my throat.”

A tear started to slowly drop from one of Clark’s eyes as the reality of what Lana had been through all those years ago slowly started to sink in; Clark had been raised by the kindest woman he had ever known and couldn’t even conceive (and knew Martha Kent would agree) how a Mother could do that to her only child, or to any child for that matter. “Did she….”

“No; but it wasn’t because she hadn’t wanted too. But, Daddy came home at that point, we both heard him come into the house and call out our names; Mother backed off immediately and walked over to the door. But, before leaving she issued a warning to me; she told me that if I ever tell my father or even breathe a word of it to anyone that first she would kill Daddy and then she would kill me.”

Clark pulled Lana very close to him and encircled her in his loving embrace. “You’re safe, Lana; your mother will never hurt you again, I promise you that. And your father will be safe as well, no one will harm him if I have anything to say about it.”

Lana looked up into Clark’s eyes. “Clark, you can’t….” Clark stopped Lana’s protest by placing his fingers on her lips. “I know you didn’t tell me this in order for me to fix it; but fix it I’m going to do, it’s obvious to me that your Mother’s presence is causing you considerable discomfort and pain; and it’s far past the time that she was called to pay for her crime. And far past the time that Lewis knew the type of woman that he was married too and what she has done to his family.”

Kissing Lana on the forehead, Clark stood and spun in a circle until he was Superman again; he had intended on asking Lana to marry him today, but the timing just wasn’t right yet and he had Laura Lang to deal with; flying out the window he had just come in through he directed his flight toward the hotel and his confrontation with the Lang’s.

Unseen by Superman as he flew away was the sight of Faora as she landed on the front steps of Lana’s home and rang the door bell; She had a look on her face that would have chilled the souls of the most hardened killer as she set her plan in motion….

[#7superherofan]

My goodness, Faora gives me such wonderfully creepy chills. Supes picked a bad time to leave his sweetheart, though Faora might choose to be cunning and just try to pretend a friendship with Lana. The confrontation between Clark, Laura, and Lewis sounds like it's going to be quite the explosion, I wonder who Lewis will believe if Laura denies Lana's story? PPMS, 'cause my little heart is racing to find out how it's all going to work out.:D

[The Black Cat]

Awesome chapters!!! PPMS

[ClanaGirl]

please do more soon this is amazing I love it.

[Torgo]

I've only read up to chapter 10 so far, but I can already tell that this is a very well written, interesting fic. I love the way you can effortlessly weave in a complex narrative with an exciting romance.

Your characterisations are excellent, and I'm really enjoying the gradual development of the Clark/Lana relationship, and their interaction. Lex scheming away to try and take Lana for himself only makes you root for them even more!

This is the work of a talented writer.

[treker]

I've only read up to chapter 10 so far, but I can already tell that this is a very well written, interesting fic. I love the way you can effortlessly weave in a complex narrative with an exciting romance.

Your characterisations are excellent, and I'm really enjoying the gradual development of the Clark/Lana relationship, and their interaction. Lex scheming away to try and take Lana for himself only makes you root for them even more!

This is the work of a talented writer.


All I can say is ..... wow......

You honor me; I don't think I really deserve such a compliment but thank you for saying so; and I shall redouble my efforts so as not to disappoint you.

thank you.

[treker]

new chapter coming later tonight.

[treker]

Chapter 35


“Evil finds an Innocent”

As Lana watched Clark slowly disappear in the horizon as he streaked toward his confrontation with her mother, she couldn’t help but say a prayer that he didn’t do anything rash to the woman she no longer thought of as her mother. So lost was Lana in her thoughts that she almost didn’t hear the doorbell, turning toward the stairs she wondered who could have been paying her a visit?

As she opened the door Lana was surprised to see Faora standing with her back to the door. “Hello?” Faora turned suddenly with a 10 megawatt smile on her face. “Hello, Lana.”

“Faora isn’t it? You’re Clark’s new partner.”

“Why yes I am; has he mentioned me much?”

Turning sideways, Lana gestured for Faora to enter her home. “Only in passing, he said something about us meeting and getting to know each other.”

Walking into Lana’s home Faora looked around and almost laughed out loud; how could Kal-el have found such a simpleton as being a match for the last son of the house of El?

Lana showed Faora into the living room and offered her a seat and something to drink; but in her gut she had a bad feeling about this visit, it wasn’t anything that she could put into words except to say that Faora was giving her of feeling of dread she hadn’t felt since Lex had kidnapped her. “Is something wrong, Faora?”

Faora considered stretching out this confrontation but she had waited long enough to begin the process of destroying Kal-el and gaining revenge against the man who betrayed her with Kal-el’s mother.

“I was wondering something, Lana.”

Lana set her tea cup down and leaned forward interested in what Clark’s partner wanted to know about her. “Yes, Faora; what would you like to know?”

“I was wondering how such a simpleton such as yourself could possibly have captured the attention of Kal-el of Krypton?”

Lana wasn’t sure that she had heard Faora correctly; but as her statement finally sunk into Lana’s consciousness Lana could feel the color drain from her face. It was at this moment that Lana realized that this woman knew who Clark really was and that she had an agenda, a very dangerous agenda which somehow involved her; and it was also in this moment that she realized that her life was in mortal danger and that she was as good as dead if she didn’t think of something fast….

As Lana was having her deadly tea with Faora; Clark was busy streaking toward Lewis and Laura’s hotel, in fact, he was traveling so fast in his desire to confront Lana’s mother that he was blowing out the windows of nearby buildings; his only saving grace was that he was in his Superman suit so no one who looked would be shocked to see him flying by. Landing in the alley next to the hotel, Clark wasted no time in changing from Superman and back into Clark Kent; at which point he sprinted around the hotel to the front entrance and dashed into the elevator.

The ride up had been a very slow and excruciating journey; he had been very tempted to just crash through the window of the Lang’s hotel room but then everyone would be asking why Superman was attacking the residents of that particular room, plus it wouldn’t have been good for Superman’s image no matter how justified he was in going after Laura Lang.

Finally the elevator door opened and Clark practically sprinted down the hall to the door leading to the Lang’s room; Clark started pounding on the door and without realizing it he caused a crack to form in the wood door because he was having a hard time controlling his strength considering how angry he was.

Lewis finally opened the door with a little bit of fear and some semblance of annoyance at someone beating on his door like they were; shocked showed on his face as he saw that it was Clark who was causing such a racket. “Clark, what the devil….”

Clark didn’t even say hello, he just pushed past Lewis as he searched the room. “Where’s your wife, Lewis!”

Lewis was still speechless as he closed the door and watched as Clark stormed around the room looking for his wife. “She’s out shopping; what is this all about, Clark?”

Clark stopped momentarily in order to scan the room with his x-ray vision and determined that Lewis was being honest with him about his wife’s whereabouts. “I’ve just come from Lana’s; and she told me why she and your wife have such a confrontational relationship.”

“You make that sound like there is a specific incident behind the animosity between them?”

Clark studied Lewis for several seconds before responding, he still had doubts as to whether Lewis actually had any idea behind what was the actual conflict between mother and daughter. “You probably won’t believe me when I tell you, but Lana explained it to me and I believe her; although it was very shocking and disturbing to me that a mother could actually do that to her daughter.”

Lewis narrowed his eyes as he studied Clark. “Just what are you trying to imply, Clark?”

“Your wife sexually assaulted Lana when she was 17.”

Laura Lang had just walked into the door and heard what Clark said, the color drained from her face as she dropped her packages; Lewis and Clark heard her and turned to face her as they heard the sound of her packages hitting the floor. Laura’s first reaction was flight as she turned and ran out the door and down the hall, she didn’t get far as Clark chased her down and roughly grabbed her to drag her back to the hotel room.

“Clark, take your hands off my wife.”

Clark roughly tossed Laura onto the couch and stood menacingly above her, his hands balled into fists as he stared at her; Lewis thought he would actually attack his wife but he never budged from his position. Lewis knew that Clark had to be mistaken, but something was wrong; Lewis noticed that Laura had not said a word since Clark had accused her of sexually assaulting her daughter of 17, in fact she wouldn’t even look up as she just covered her face with her hands and curled up on the couch.

“Laura, tell Clark that he was wrong; tell him you didn’t do what he has accused you of.”

Laura finally looked up and into Lewis’ eyes. “Lewis, I….” But she couldn’t continue as she just looked at her husband; and that was when the light finally went on in Lewis’ mind. It wasn’t the fact that Clark had accused Laura or that he said that Lana had verified what she had done, it was the look in his wife’s eyes and face that told him the truth, told him the unforgiveable act that she had perpetrated on their teenage daughter all those years ago.

“You *****; how could you, she was just a baby for the love of god!”

“Lewis, you don’t understand; it was a long time ago and I couldn’t help myself.”

Listening to a grown adult trying to justify violating a young child like she had done was making Clark sick to his stomach. “You can’t seriously be trying to justify what you did to your own daughter?”

Lewis agreed with Clark as he walked over to the phone and called the front desk. “Get me the police.”

Watching Lewis on the phone Laura reached out to him in a last ditch attempt to save herself. “I’ll deny everything, you can’t prove what I did.”

“Cancel that request for the police.” Lewis hung the phone up and walked over to stand by Clark. “I’m going with Clark over to Lana’s; I’ll be contacting my attorney in the morning to begin divorce proceedings. If you value your reputation and your freedom you won’t fight it. Oh, and you can forget about any alimony or settlement, I’m not going to pay you one dime after what you did to our daughter and if you try to get any money from the divorce I’ll go to the District Attorney and find a way to make you pay for what you have done no matter how long it takes; do I make myself Clear?”

All Laura could do was look at her husband and the hatred he now had for her. “I understand.”

Clark put his arm on Lewis’ shoulder. “Come, Lewis; Lana needs you.”

Clark took Lewis out of the room and down the hall and into the elevator; Lewis held his head high until he saw the elevator door closed and finally slumped against the wall and lowered his face into his hands in order to cry. “How could I have been so blind? My poor little angel, how have I failed you?”

“You didn’t fail her, Lewis; no father in his right mind could ever conceive of his wife doing that to their child. Lana doesn’t blame you, she only wanted to protect you, which is why she never told you about it.”

Lewis finally took his face out of his hands and looked up at Clark. “But, I’m the father; I’m supposed to take care of her not the other way around.”

Clark reached over and placed his hand on Lewis’ shoulder. “Families take care of each other in times of need; you raised Lana well, even at the age of 17 she knew that she needed to take care of her family even if she was taking care of it from itself. Don’t feel guilty just because you raised such a wonderful young woman, feel pride in the person she is.”

Lewis’ expression softened at Clark’s words. “I’ve always been proud of Lana; she could never do anything to change that feeling.”

“Then tell her that when you see her; I have the feeling she needs to hear it.”

Lewis could see what Clark was telling him and he was grateful for his words of support. “Thank you, Clark; I’m glad that Lana found you.”

“As am I, Lewis; as am I.”

As Lewis and Clark were leaving the hotel Lana was trying to make sense of what was happening to her at the hands of Faora. “Kal-el of Krypton? Who the devil is Kal-el and what in the world is Krypton?”

Faora applauded Lana’s acting job. “Well played, Lana; well played. If I were someone else I might have believed your well rehearsed denial except for one very important fact.”

“And what fact would that be?”

“The fact that I was listening to your entire conversation about how your mother defiled you as a young girl; how touching, how pathetic. Fortunately, it did cause Kal-el to show what a hero he is by leaving you unprotected and giving me this wonderful opportunity with you.”

Lana was now certain she was in mortal danger and needed to escape quickly. “And what opportunity would that be?”

“The opportunity to kill you, of course; that way I can crush Kal-el’s spirit the way his father crushed my spirit.”

Lana moved as lightening to escape running toward the door; Faora just smiled as she watched her sprint to the door; she let her get within a few feet of the door before using her super speed to cut her off and grab her by the throat. Faora lifted her off the ground as her hand closed around her throat cutting off Lana’s oxygen supply.

“The only real question is whether I kill you here or tear you to shreds spreading the pieces all over the city for Kal-el to find.”

The last thing Lana heard before she lost consciousness was the sound of Faora’s manic laughter echoing in her ears….

[ClanaGirl]

Terrific job treker I have loved your story since the beginning one day I hope my Clana stories can be just as strong as yours are. I loved the way Lewis Lang is going to divorce that b***h of a woman Laura Lang good job continue we hope to jnknow what Happens to Lana

[treker]

Terrific job treker I have loved your story since the beginning one day I hope my Clana stories can be just as strong as yours are. I loved the way Lewis Lang is going to divorce that b***h of a woman Laura Lang good job continue we hope to jnknow what Happens to Lana

I'm sure your stories are fine. Practice makes perfect, looking back on some of my early work I cringe at how bad it was; I wonder why anyone was even reading it.

Don't be afraid to incorporate other people's style into your own stories, I'm sure they won't mind as I have had alot of advice in my own writing....

Glad you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it took so long....

The next chapter will be titled " Chapter 36 - Faora of Krypton "

[Nemu]

Man I hope Lewis and Clark get to Lana's before it's too late!!!

Hmmm... I wonder what Jor-El did to Faora.. Just imprison her father? That's pretty lame to want revenge for that... Jor-El only did what was needed to protect Krypton...

Well... I'll be ready when you get the next chapter!!!

Cool title!!

[The Black Cat]

Great chapter!!! PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 36

“Faora of Krypton”

Lana slumped into Faora’s hand, the last thing running through her mind was Clark and how he would blame himself because he wasn’t here to help her; Faora looked at Lana’s unconscious body and spit on it. “Worthless waste of skin; Lord how I hate humans, but contrary to what I told you I’m not ready to kill you yet Lana Lang.”

Turning toward the wall, Faora used her heat vision to burn a message for Clark into the wall; a message that would leave little doubt that the person who had taken his woman knew who he was. However, there was something missing from the message that Faora was leaving; lifting Lana’s head up she slapped her repeatedly until blood was freely out of both sides of Lana’s mouth, taking her fingers she smeared the blood all over the message on the wall giving credibility to her threat.

Satisfied that Kal-el would be sufficiently terrified she lifted Lana up over her shoulder and kicked the front door off of its hinge before walking outside to take off into the afternoon sky.

Clark and Lewis had been driving slowly over to Lana’s; Lewis had been staring out the passenger window the whole way in silence before he finally spoke to Clark. “You’re probably thinking that I let Laura off too easily back at the hotel.”

To be honest Clark had been thinking that exact thing, but that’s not what he was going to say to Lewis considering what he had just gone through, Clark didn’t see any reason to make his day worse. “It’s your decision, Lewis; and in retrospective I guess it would be a very difficult case to prove; it would in essence be Lana’s word against Laura’s and a jury is not going to want to think that any mother could do that to her own daughter.”

“And Lana has been tortured enough with this, don’t you think?”

Clark just looked ahead at the road. “I suppose, but it’s not really going to give her real closure; and I think that is something she needs right now; even if you can’t prove it I think she needs to pursue it so she can put it in the past where it belongs.”

Lewis didn’t know what to say to that since he had only just found out about what his wife had done to his daughter; he was having a very hard time wrapping his mind around what Laura had done to Lana all those years ago.

Clark noticed the silence that was coming from the car seat beside him. “Are you okay, Lewis?”

A long silence passed before Lewis could even speak again. “No, Clark; I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again.”

Clark liked Lewis, and not just because he was Lana’s father; he was a man of character and conscious. In fact he reminded Clark of Jonathan Kent in a lot of ways and he wondered how Lewis would handle the news of his true origins, could he handle the information that he was in fact Superman?

“Clark, what the devil is that?”

Clark looked where Lewis was directing his attention and felt the color drain out of his face; He saw the front of Lana’s house and how the doors were hanging on its hinges as if it had been kicked open from the inside; kicked open by someone incredibly strong. “Wait here, Lewis.”

Clark practically ran out of the car before it was even stopped as he rushed up to the house; he had to be careful to not use his Superspeed in front of Lewis. As he approached the door he used his x-ray vision to quickly scan the house and his heart sank as he could find no trace of Lana anywhere. Stepping into the front foyer he quickly looked for clues, he didn’t have to look long as he saw the message that had been burned into the wall and then smeared with what looked like blood.

‘Kal-el, I have your woman; and if you want her to live through the
night you will do exactly as you’re told. It’s funny, I’ve been leading
you around by the nose for days now, who do you think has been ripping
apart all those low life human vermin you call men? Me, that’s who; and
they got exactly what they deserved; they got exactly who I’m going to
do to you, or to Lana if you don’t show up. And since I know you’re too
stupid to figure this out on your own I’ll tell you that I took Lana to your
Fortress; yes moron I know where it is, and before I’m done it will be just
A pile of crushed crystals just as Lana will be if you don’t show up. So,
come on, Kal-el, show more guts than your father ever did, show him that
at least one member of the house of El has some guts. Tick Tok,
Kal-el, the clocking is ticking on Lana’s life. Don’t keep her waiting…’

“Clark, who the devil is Kal-el?”

So absorbed in the message was Clark that he hadn’t even noticed the fact that Lewis had come up behind him; thinking quickly Clark could only come up with one answer. “Kal-el is the real name of Superman.”

“Superman? But, why would this person think that Superman was involved with Lana?” Clark could see that Lewis was holding on for dear life; the fear was evident in his eyes as he realized that his little girl was in grave danger.

Clark put his hands on Lewis’ shoulder. “I don’t know, Lewis; but I will find out; I have a way of getting in touch with Superman and I’ll make sure he makes this his top priority, we won’t let Lana be hurt.”

Lewis looked to the wall, seeing the blood smeared there a tear started to drop from one eye. “It’s a little late for that I think.”

As Clark and Lewis were reading Faora’s message; she was landing at the front entrance to the Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole. Lana was just regaining consciousness as they set foot in front of the giant crystal structure, Lana just looked up in awe at what she was witnessing.

“Where are we?”

Faora gripped Lana’s arm painfully and dragged her in through the entrance. “It’s a monument to the past, an arrogant view to a life lead by the most self centered man in the galaxy; that man was Kal-el’s father Jor-el of Krypton. A man I loved more than my own life.”

A light bulb went off in Lana’s brain as she was starting to put the pieces together as best she could. “Aren’t you a little young to have known Kal-el’s father? He lived over 500 years ago.”

“I see you’re not trying to hide your knowledge of Kal-el anymore. Well, Time has no meaning in the phantom zone.”

Lana had no idea what Faora was talking about. “Phantom Zone?”

“It’s a prison, Lana; but not just any prison; your mythical hell would seem like a paradise compared to what the zone is like. You don’t age, there’s no food and you’re in a constant state of starvation but you can’t die; you are constantly bombarded by light and sound that would drive a lesser being insane, and in fact, there are some residents of the zone who do go insane.”

The way Faora was acting, Lana had no doubt that she was one of those people who had lost their minds; or maybe it went deeper than that, perhaps she was already insane and that was what had caused her imprisonment in the zone; but, if it was what she described she thought that there was no crime that could justify imprisoning someone in that type of environment. “What did you do to get put there?”

“I loved a man.”
Lana’s next thought was cut off by a booming voice which seemed to echo from every corner of the great structure. “Faora! How did you escape from the Phantom Zone?”

“Does that matter? The point is I’m here and Kal-el will be here soon as well.”

There was a long silence as the disembodied voice weighed that piece of information. “Kal-el is not expected.”

Faora squeezed Lana’s arm even harder until she was screaming in agony. “I think he’ll show up in order to save the love of his life.”

“Kal-el has a destiny; he wouldn’t let one lone individual distract him from that destiny.”

Faora just laughed. “His destiny is to die at the hands of the woman you rejected.”

“I’m not Jor-el of Krypton; he died 500 years ago, I am merely the AI he programmed to help his son.”

Lana noticed something, she noticed how Faora was busy manipulating crystal’s in the control panel; and every time she moved another one the lights in the structure altered and she smiled a little more each time it happened.

“You may not be Jor-el; but his spirit, his emotions were imprinted upon you and you will grieve for Kal-el just as he would; and that will be just as good as if the real Jor-el was grieving for his son’s death.”

Lana knew this woman was insane, but she just didn’t understand where all the hostility for Jor-el, and by extention, Kal-el was coming from. “What did
Jor-el do to you, Faora?”

Faora turned toward Lana slowly and closed her hands around her throat and started to squeeze. “Did I tell you that you could speak you *****?” Lana was slowly losing consciousness again before Faora let her go so she could gasp for breath yet again.

“And in answer to your question, He chose Lara over me.”

“Lara?”

The AI voice of Jor-el choose to answer that question for Lana. “Lara-el was Kal-el’s biological mother, Lana. But, what Faora is failing to tell you is that after Jor-el’s marriage to Lara she went on a murderous rampage killing 50 men in the most horrific manner imaginable before she was caught and sentenced.”

Lana felt as though she were going to be sick, 50 men brutally murdered just because Clark’s father fell in love with someone else; Faora was mad indeed and now Lana understood why she had been sent to such a hell hole as the Phantom Zone.

“All men deserve such a fate, it’s their punishment for treating women like objects to be objectified; women are beautiful creatures and not doormats and playthings until a man finds someone else to play with.”

“The reason Jor-el choose Lara over you Faora was because he could see how unstable you were; he knew you could never be the cornerstone of his family, the mother of his son; a fact that you proved by slaughtering all those men.”

“SILENCE YOU KRYPTONIAN BASTARD!!!”

Lana had never been more frightened in her life; on the one hand she wished Clark were here to save her; but on the other hand she was scared that Clark would show up and Faora would back up her threat and kill the man she loved. Lana tried to crawl away but ran into an invisible wall that she could not penetrate.

“You’ll find that the force field I’ve erected around the podium is quite impenetrable by a mere human.”

Lana looked up at Faora and couldn’t understand what she was doing; she had all Clark’s powers, so why does she need some invisible force field?

“In answer to your unspoken question, Lana; this force field will keep me alive while Kal-el slowly dies in excruciating agony.”

Just as Faora uttered those fateful words, Superman landed at the entrance and raced inside. “Faora? What the devil!”

“I would answer your questions Kal-el, but as you will be dead soon I see no point.” Faora shifted a few crystals and suddenly a second force field sealed the fortress shut just as the inside turned a decidedly familiar shade of green.

Superman dropped to his knee’s slowly as the Kryptonite radiation started to affect him; Lana was screaming Clark’s name as he started to scream as the pain became more and more intense. Falling to both knee’s, Clark fell on his face; he lifted his head and locked eyes with Lana, he slowly reached his hand toward her. “Lana….”

[#7superherofan]

Chapter 36


“Faora of Krypton”



However, there was something missing from the message that Faora was leaving; lifting Lana’s head up she slapped her repeatedly until blood was freely out of both sides of Lana’s mouth, taking her fingers she smeared the blood all over the message on the wall giving credibility to her threat.




‘Kal-el, I have your woman; and if you want her to live through the
night you will do exactly as you’re told. It’s funny, I’ve been leading
you around by the nose for days now, who do you think has been ripping
apart all those low life human vermin you call men? Me, that’s who; and
they got exactly what they deserved; they got exactly who I’m going to
do to you, or to Lana if you don’t show up. And since I know you’re too
stupid to figure this out on your own I’ll tell you that I took Lana to your
Fortress; yes moron I know where it is, and before I’m done it will be just
A pile of crushed crystals just as Lana will be if you don’t show up. So,
come on, Kal-el, show more guts than your father ever did, show him that
at least one member of the house of El has some guts. Tick Tok,
Kal-el, the clocking is ticking on Lana’s life. Don’t keep her waiting…’



Faora turned toward Lana slowly and closed her hands around her throat and started to squeeze. “Did I tell you that you could speak you *****?” Lana was slowly losing consciousness again before Faora let her go so she could gasp for breath yet again.

“And in answer to your question, He chose Lara over me.”

“Lara?”

The AI voice of Jor-el choose to answer that question for Lana. “Lara-el was Kal-el’s biological mother, Lana. But, what Faora is failing to tell you is that after Jor-el’s marriage to Lara she went on a murderous rampage killing 50 men in the most horrific manner imaginable before she was caught and sentenced.”



“SILENCE YOU KRYPTONIAN BASTARD!!!”


Superman dropped to his knee’s slowly as the Kryptonite radiation started to affect him; Lana was screaming Clark’s name as he started to scream as the pain became more and more intense. Falling to both knee’s, Clark fell on his face; he lifted his head and locked eyes with Lana, he slowly reached his hand toward her. “Lana….”


My goodness, Treker, when you leave a cliffhanger, YOU LEAVE A CLIFFHANGER! The best way to describe all the chills and horrors that I felt toward Faora would be :eek::eek:, and some :( and even a little :mad:. SHE'S SIMPLY MAD I TELL YOU, MAD! All this carnage just because Jor-El threw her over for Lara, well "Hell hath no fury..." as they say. She set quite the trap for poor Supes and Lana, their predicament is similar to those old movie serials that always ended in suspense. I'm biting my nails to see how it will all get resolved, so please PPMS.:D

[treker]

My goodness, Treker, when you leave a cliffhanger, YOU LEAVE A CLIFFHANGER! The best way to describe all the chills and horrors that I felt toward Faora would be :eek::eek:, and some :( and even a little :mad:. SHE'S SIMPLY MAD I TELL YOU, MAD! All this carnage just because Jor-El threw her over for Lara, well "Hell hath no fury..." as they say. She set quite the trap for poor Supes and Lana, their predicament is similar to those old movie serials that always ended in suspense. I'm biting my nails to see how it will all get resolved, so please PPMS.:D

It's funny that you refer to the old movie serials; I remember watching them when growing up and also some tv serials (one about dracula) where they always ended in a cliffhanger....I loved those shows. Maybe that's what has influenced my story writing...

[ClanaGirl]

MY GOODNESS TREKER YOU LEFT US A CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S JSUT UPSETTIGN TIT WAS GETTING SO GOOD i DIDN'T EAT MY DINNER OR TAKE MY EYES OFF THE SCREEEN MY GOD MAN HURRY AND MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER BEFORE WE ALL GO CRAZYit went deeper than that, perhaps she was already insane and that was what had caused her imprisonment in the zone; but, if it was what she described she thought that there was no crime that could justify imprisoning someone in that type of environment. “What did you do to get put there?”

“I loved a man.”
Lana’s next thought was cut off by a booming voice which seemed to echo from every corner of the great structure. “Faora! How did you escape from the Phantom Zone?”

“Does that matter? The point is I’m here and Kal-el will be here soon as well.”

There was a long silence as the disembodied voice weighed that piece of information. “Kal-el is not expected.”

Faora squeezed Lana’s arm even harder until she was screaming in agony. “I think he’ll show up in order to save the love of his life.”

“Kal-el has a destiny; he wouldn’t let one lone individual distract him from that destiny.”

Faora just laughed. “His destiny is to die at the hands of the woman you rejected.”

“I’m not Jor-el of Krypton; he died 500 years ago, I am merely the AI he programmed to help his son.”

Lana noticed something, she noticed how Faora was busy manipulating crystal’s in the control panel; and every time she moved another one the lights in the structure altered and she smiled a little more each time it happened.

“You may not be Jor-el; but his spirit, his emotions were imprinted upon you and you will grieve for Kal-el just as he would; and that will be just as good as if the real Jor-el was grieving for his son’s death.”

Lana knew this woman was insane, but she just didn’t understand where all the hostility for Jor-el, and by extention, Kal-el was coming from. “What did
Jor-el do to you, Faora?”

Faora turned toward Lana slowly and closed her hands around her throat and started to squeeze. “Did I tell you that you could speak you *****?” Lana was slowly losing consciousness again before Faora let her go so she could gasp for breath yet again.

“And in answer to your question, He chose Lara over me.”

“Lara?”

The AI voice of Jor-el choose to answer that question for Lana. “Lara-el was Kal-el’s biological mother, Lana. But, what Faora is failing to tell you is that after Jor-el’s marriage to Lara she went on a murderous rampage killing 50 men in the most horrific manner imaginable before she was caught and sentenced.”

Lana felt as though she were going to be sick, 50 men brutally murdered just because Clark’s father fell in love with someone else; Faora was mad indeed and now Lana understood why she had been sent to such a hell hole as the Phantom Zone.

“All men deserve such a fate, it’s their punishment for treating women like objects to be objectified; women are beautiful creatures and not doormats and playthings until a man finds someone else to play with.”

“The reason Jor-el choose Lara over you Faora was because he could see how unstable you were; he knew you could never be the cornerstone of his family, the mother of his son; a fact that you proved by slaughtering all those men.”

“SILENCE YOU KRYPTONIAN BASTARD!!!”

Lana had never been more frightened in her life; on the one hand she wished Clark were here to save her; but on the other hand she was scared that Clark would show up and Faora would back up her threat and kill the man she loved. Lana tried to crawl away but ran into an invisible wall that she could not penetrate.

“You’ll find that the force field I’ve erected around the podium is quite impenetrable by a mere human.”

Lana looked up at Faora and couldn’t understand what she was doing; she had all Clark’s powers, so why does she need some invisible force field?

“In answer to your unspoken question, Lana; this force field will keep me alive while Kal-el slowly dies in excruciating agony.”

Just as Faora uttered those fateful words, Superman landed at the entrance and raced inside. “Faora? What the devil!”

“I would answer your questions Kal-el, but as you will be dead soon I see no point.” Faora shifted a few crystals and suddenly a second force field sealed the fortress shut just as the inside turned a decidedly familiar shade of green.

Superman dropped to his knee’s slowly as the Kryptonite radiation started to affect him; Lana was screaming Clark’s name as he started to scream as the pain became more and more intense. Falling to both knee’s, Clark fell on his face; he lifted his head and locked eyes with Lana, he slowly reached his hand toward her. “Lana….” PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY MAN MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER

[treker]

Chapter 37

“The Price of Love”

Kal-el had never experienced as much pain as he was in was in at the present time; why hadn’t the Jor-el AI told him that the fortress was capable of this? If he had known he would have disabled the feature in order to safeguard against just this sort of situation, now an enemy he hadn’t even known that he had had turned the fortress against him and was killing him with it.

“Lana….”

Looking up through the green haze that his vision was becoming he could see Lana laying on the floor at Faora’s feet; Faora was leering at him with glee as she watched him continue to weaken, she was laughing hysterically; even through his pain induced fog he could tell that she was insane. ‘Father, help me….’

Kal-el sent out the telepathic summons hoping that the Fortress was still capable of receiving his mental summons; in response he heard a faint reply in the back of his mind. ‘Kal-el, I would help you if I could; but, Faora, has disabled the Fortress defenses that could save you.’

In his mind Kal-el had already suspected this, but he still needed to make the attempt and hope that he was wrong. Summoning every once of strength he had left he sent a searing wave of heat vision aimed directly at Faora’s head; but unfortunately for Kal-el, it was just to weak to do any damage and just impacted on the force shield and fizzled out.

“Is that the best you can do, last son of Krypton; last son of the bastard Jor-el.” The glee on her face was almost more than Kal-el could stand; and what would become of Lana? Would Faora kill her after he was gone or would she let her go?

Lana looked at Clark as he quivered in agony on the floor; she would have given her own life if she could just reach him. But, Faora, had made sure that was just not possible, the force field that kept the deadly radiation away from her also prevented Lana from being able to reach Clark.

‘Lana….’

In her mind Lana heard what she thought sounded like the voice of the computer AI that Faora had said represented Clark’s Kryptonian father. Lana didn’t know if she was capable of replying but she had to try. ‘Who is this?’

‘I am the computer AI of Jor-el; I didn’t know if you would receive this mental transmission. Lana, you are Kal-el’s only hope for survival.’

‘But, what can I do against her?’

There was a long silence as Lana tried to remain as calm as possible was she waited for the long dead Kryptonian to come up with a miracle to save the man she loved. ‘There is a crystal that is flashing on the control panel, can you see it?’

Lana raised her head as slowly as possible to minimize drawing Faora’s attention toward her; looking at the specified panel she could indeed see a crystal flashing on the control panel. ‘Yes, I see it.’

‘I need you to pull it out, turn it around and then reinsert it into the panel; it’s Kal-el’s only chance.’

Lana had never been so frightened in her young life; she was afraid to move and afraid of what would happen if she didn’t move. Willing her muscles to move ever so slowly she inched her way over to the panel all the while keeping an eye for any reaction by Faora. But she was too busy watching Clark die to pay her any attention, which was just fine by Lana; she didn’t know what this crystal was supposed to do but if it saved Clark then she would gladly sacrifice her life to do as the AI had asked her to do.

As she reached the panel she slowly inched up to her feet and closed her hands around the crystal; it felt painfully cold in her hand as she pulled it out of its housing. Unfortunately, for Lana, Faora had heard the sound of the crystal being pulled out of its housing and she turned to snarl at Lana. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Fear exploded in Lana as she realized that she was as close to death as she ever wanted to get; reacting with a speed she didn’t realize she had, Lana inverted the crystal and inserted it back into the panel just as Faora’s fist came crashing down on Lana’s hand shattering it. Lana screamed in Agony as she pulled her mangled and broken hand back to her chest.

Faora lifted Lana by the scruff of her neck screaming at her. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” Suddenly, what Jor-el had Lana do became obvious as the inner area of the force field began glowing a familiar shade of green while outside the force field Clark looked up as the pain was slowly fading away; he noticed that the green glow of Kryptonite had left the fortress and was now centered solely on the area inhabited by Faora and Lana. As he watched Faora holding Lana in the air by her neck he witnessed Faora beginning to scream in pain and agony as she collapsed on the floor, dropping Lana in a heap on the floor.

“Jor-el, what is happening?”

“I instructed Lana on how to reverse the Kryptonite effect so that it was solely effective inside the Force Field that Faora had constructed; in a few minutes she will die from its exposure.”

Clark was shocked that the computer AI was allowing another person to be murdered in such a fashion, even if she was a homicidal maniac she didn’t deserve to die like that. “You can’t let her die, Jor-el.”

“It’s what she deserves, Kal-el.”

Rising to his feet he slowly walked over to the force field and looked down on Faora’s screaming form in sympathy. “She’s sick, Jor-el; she deserves our sympathy and help, not our condemnation.”

“If we release her, Kal-el; she’ll just kill again.”

“I don’t care, it doesn’t make it any more right that what she did to all those other men and I want it stopped now.”

Lana looked up at Clark as though she was seeing him for the very first time; here was a woman who wanted nothing more than to kill him and any other man who crossed her path; he would be entirely justified in letting her die and yet all he cared about was saving her life. She hadn’t thought her love for him could get any stronger and yet his selfless act was causing that to happen all the same; standing up on her feet she walked over to the control panel and pulled the crystal out of the control panel when that had been causing the Kryptonite radiation to kill Faora.

Instantly the radiation faded to nothing. “Now, Jor-el; compress the force field around Faora so she can’t escape.”

Jor-el complied as was his duty to follow the instructions of the last son of Krypton; the original Jor-el had that included as part of his programming to always follow Kal-el’s orders as if they were law; and so he released Lana and compressed the force field until it were like a cocoon surrounding Faora. Faora was so furious that she could barely speak as she pounded against the force field. “KRYPTONIAN SCUM, LET ME OUT OF HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!”

“I think I’m showing you more compassion than you had intentioned for either myself or Lana, Faora.”

Lana walked over to Clark cupping her shattered hand to her chest; Clark looked her over from top to bottom. “Lana, hold out your arm.” Lana did as she was instructed as the tears streamed down her face from all the pain she was in; Clark x-rayed her hand and saw that every bone in her hand was shattered beyond repair, he knew if he didn’t do something that Lana would never paint again.

“Come with me, Lana.”

They both walked over to a raised platform and Clark had Lana lay down and sit her arm out to her side as he manipulated several crystal’s on the side of the table. Soon a light enveloped her and she felt a warm sensation running up and down her ruined hand, it felt like tiny pin pricks where both on and inside her hand. “Lay back and close your eyes, Lana; this will take a while and I’ll go deal with Faora.”

Lana just nodded her head as Clark leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before walking back over to Faora. “What do you plan on doing with her, Kal-el?”

Clark had always thought that talking to a disembodied voice had seemed weird as he liked to look someone in the face when he talked to them, so he just looked up into the air and at the Fortress in general. “Does your memory include everything that was tried in order to cure Faora of her illness?”

“Yes, Kal-el; every conceivable medical procedure was employed. Her memory was ever wiped to eliminate the memory of what she had done, however she still returned to her killer ways. She’s incurable which was why the only way to contain her was to imprison her in the Phantom Zone; it was Krypton’s last option.”

Clark thought about what he had been told, the very idea of doing that to another person was so against everything he believed; but he also could not just let Faora go free, she was too dangerous. “There must be another way other than the Phantom Zone.”

“The Zone is a measure of last resort, Kal-el; she never would have been sent there had there been another option. And how will you feel if she kills again when you had to power to lock her away so that she would never hurt anyone ever again?”

Clark wished that Jor-el hadn’t answered that question; because he knew that he could not allow Faora to roam free knowing that she would kill again. “If I do this then there has to be a way to seal the zone forever; no entry and no exit for the rest of time.”

“That would not be advisable, Kal-el; what if you should have cause to imprison someone else in the Zone?”

The very idea of doing this a second time was making Clark ill, he knew that he could never lock someone away like this again; no, if he did this he needed to seal the Zone forever. “Can the Phantom Zone be permanently sealed?”

“Yes, Kal-el.”

Clark just nodded to himself; this was on him and him alone, he would bear the responsibility to shutting Faora away for all creation. “Prepare the portal.”

As the lights in the Fortress began flickering, Lana watched from her place on the table as she saw the agony that Clark was in because of his responsibility to the rest of humanity; most people wouldn’t understand why Clark was having such a hard time with his decision, but Lana understood; it was because of the type of man that Clark was, he believed in Justice and the basic goodness of man, it was one of the things that she loved most about him.

Clark stood before Faora as a rift in space and time began forming above the force field that held Faora in place. “I wish there was another way, Faora.”

“SAVE IT, SCUM OF JOR-EL; YOU’RE JUST AS BAD AS YOUR FATHER; AFRAID TO FACE A REAL WOMAN FACE TO FACE AS EQUALS.”

Clark looked deep into Faora’s eyes trying to see if he was reaching her, trying to see if there was another way; but all he saw was madness. Shaking his head he walked over to the crystal panel and moved several crystals which caused Faora’s force field to rise into the air until she passed through and into the Phantom Zone; As she crossed the threshold the force field lowered releasing her to her new prison and sealed itself behind her.

Taking the crystal which controlled the portal’s to the Phantom Zone, Clark shattered it in his hands knowing that it was the only way to open a portal to the zone. “Well, it’s done I just wish there had been another way.”

“You did what your duty called on you to do, Kal-el; and I’m proud of you for it.”

Clark knew that it really wasn’t his father telling him that he was proud of him; but it still felt as if Jor-el of Krypton was telling him so and it made him feel special. Walking back over to Lana, Clark x-rayed her hand and saw that the bones had mended nicely; turning off the healing rays he helped her off the table and gave her a bone crushing hug.

Lana lifted her head off of Clark’s chest. “May we please go home now?”

Clark looked down into Lana’s sparkling eyes and knew that the time couldn’t have been more perfect. Reaching back into his belt into the compartment where he had stored Lana’s engagement ring, Clark kneeled down in front of Lana. “Lana Lang, you have been in my heart and in my soul for weeks now and I couldn’t imagine my life going forward without you; I love you Lana and I desperately want you to be my life partner for all the days I have left in this life. Would you do me the very great honor of consenting to be my wife?”

Lana was speechless as Clark extended the ring box and opened it to reveal the most perfect engagement ring she had ever seen; tears were streaming down her face as she slowly nodded her head yes and extended her left hand to allow Clark to slip the ring on her finger.

It didn’t take Clark long to comply and slip the ring on her finger, it fit Lana perfectly as Clark rose, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. “Now, we can go home.”

Lifting Lana up into his arms Clark flew out of the Fortress and toward Metropolis and home…….

[treker]

Chapter 38

“Home Coming”

Lana knew she should have been freezing to death as she flew threw the arctic air as Clark flew them back to Metropolis; but she was too excited to care, she was in the arms of her fiancé and all was finally right in her life. Or, at least, she thought all was right in her life; but, there was something wrong with Clark. It wasn’t anything she could put into words; it was just something that a woman noticed about her man, even if he said everything was okay.

She wanted to ask him about it but the roar of the wind as they flew south across Canada made verbal communication all but impossible; so, instead, she reached up and caressed the side of his face. Clark looked down at her and smiled; it was such a simple gesture that she had done but it meant all the world to him.

Clark was anxious to get home but he was also anxious to show Lana the world as he saw it; it was one thing to see the world as you flew over it from a Jet, but it was an entirely different matter to see what the world was all about without anything surrounding you to distract you from the sheer beauty that the world really was all about.

Soon Lana was witnessing the awesome size of the rocky mountains as they crossed into the United States border’s; it would have been one of the best moments in her life except that they soon found themselves surrounded by U.S. Air Force Fighter Jets. Lana looked left and then to her right and up and down and could see 4 Jets escorting them; she looked to Clark with a worried expression on her face, Clark was putting up a good front but she could tell that he was worried as well. She knew that he wasn’t worried for himself; because there was nothing the Air Force could do to Clark, but she was mortal and therefore very vulnerable to injury should they decide to fire on them.

Suddenly they found themselves bombarded by a loudspeaker mounted on one of the Jets. “Superman, you are hereby ordered to follow us and land at our base of operations; failure to comply will result in the use of deadly force. If you are in compliance with this order then simply nod your head and follow us down.”

Clark looked to Lana and saw the fear in her eyes; he couldn’t risk anything happening to her so he turned his head to the lead Jet and nodded his head in agreement. Clark fell into formation with the Jet’s and followed them; the journey took several hours and they soon found themselves flying out over the Pacific Ocean; Clark had an impassive look on his face but Lana knew he was worried for her safety, and it was tearing her up inside; he wouldn’t even be in this situation if she wasn’t with him.

Clark had just about had as much of this situation as he was going to take until he saw an island come into view with a landing field in its center; in face from what he could determine, the base was the only thing on the entire island. He landed beside the Jets and set Lana down just as 20 Marines stormed out with guns drawn.

Within minutes of being surrounded by the marines a General soon appeared to confront Clark and Lana. “I’m glad to see that you have enough intelligence to land rather than endanger your companion.”

“And just why did you force us to land here?”

“We’ll discuss that after your companion is in custody, Corporal take the young lady into custody.”

The corporal that the General had been addressing started to move toward Lana but before he could take more than a few steps Clark flew into action; he moved so fast that before anyone knew what was happening Superman had taped each soldier on the head knocking them all unconscious before coming to a stop next to Lana once again. “I wouldn’t advise trying that again General unless you want to join your soldiers.”

“Are you sure that’s the way you want to play this, Superman?”

Lana couldn’t believe the arrogance of the military; Clark had just demonstrated how confronting him was a very bad idea and yet this General was still acting as if he was the one in control here.
“You have 30 seconds to explain yourself, General before I decide that my cooperation is just not worth the time its taking.”

The general’s face turned several shades of red before he finally spoke again. “I’ll tell you what this is about; you’re an alien from another world living on our planet without permission. You’re a danger to the world and to the good tax paying citizen’s of the United States; it is my duty to bring you under control.”

It wasn’t Superman’s reaction that surprised the General’s; it was Lana’s. She just started laughing; laughing so hard that she could barely breathe let alone talk. “Do you mind telling me what you find so amusing young woman?”

“Funny? I find you funny in a sad pathetic way; ever since this man has shown up on our planet he has done nothing but help the world; I can’t even tell you the number of times that he’s saved my life and he’s never asked for anything in payment, just our gratitude at his selfless acts of heroism.”

“He’s a menace young woman.”

“No, he’s a hero; someone you should be thankful is on our side.”

“And when he decides that he’s not on our side? What happens then?”

“That’s impossible; it’s not in his character.”

Clark just folded his arms and let his fiancé mount his defense for him; he was in awe at how protective she was of his safety; even though it really wasn’t necessary. “I think we’re done here, General; you’ve wasted enough of our time.”

Picking Lana up in his arm’s Clark started to rise off the ground before the General issued a veiled threat. “This isn’t over, Superman; I know you must have some weakness and I’ll find out what it is.”

Lana looked back in concern, a look that didn’t escape the notice of the General; it seemed obvious to him that she knew what Superman’s weakness was and whether she wanted to or not she was going to tell him exactly what that weakness was and how he could use it against Superman.

Superman flew as fast as he thought was safe for Lana to endure until they soon found themselves looking at the familiar skyline of Metropolis. Lana sighed in relief at seeing the welcome feeling of finally being home; Superman landed on her front lawn, as he set Lana down, she looked up in concern. “What if someone sees you dropping me off?”

“The only person here is your father and he knew that Clark was going to get Superman in order to save you.” Suddenly Lana realized that she didn’t have a good way to explain how she was suddenly engaged when the last time her father saw her she wasn’t; she took off the ring and handed it back to Clark. “You’re going to need to propose to me again so that my dad won’t get suspicious as too how I received this ring so quickly.”

Clark took the ring and put it back in its compartment in his belt; although he was very disappointed that Lana wasn’t wearing it, a fact that Lana saw on his face. “Don’t worry sweets; I just don’t want any questions that we can’t answer, I expect to have that ring back very soon if you know what’s good for you.”

As if on cue, Lewis Lang stormed out of the house and ran straight to Lana to embrace her. “Oh, pumpkin; I’m so relieved that you’re safe. Clark said he could get Superman to save you but I had my doubts.”

“Mr. Kent and I have a special relationship as does Ms. Lang; you must be Lana’s father, I’m Superman.”

Superman extended his hand in friendship to Lewis who hesitantly shook it. “I’m very grateful for your efforts on my daughter’s behalf; she’s very precious to me.”

“I’m sure she is; but, if you’ll excuse me I have other responsibilities.”

Lewis watched as Superman flew into the night sky and just shook his head in awe. “I can’t believe how amazing that man is.”

“You have no idea, Daddy; no idea at all.”

“But, where’s Clark? I would have thought he would have been with you both.”

Keeping Clark’s secret from her father was something that Lana knew was necessary but she really couldn’t stand lying to him; she had done enough of that all those years ago with the situation with her mother; as they walked arm in arm back into her house she thought that now would be a good time to broach the subject of the incident. “Daddy, I’m assuming that Clark told you what happened with Mother?”

Lewis brought Lana to a stop and turned her toward him. “Yes, and she admitted it to the both of us; I just wish you could have told me about it yourself.”

Lana looked down as she was too embarrassed to look her father in the eyes; Lewis had no room in his heart for shame in regard to his daughter. Lifting her chin up so she would look him in the eyes he kissed her gently on the forehead and hugged her as only a father could. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Pumpkin; you did nothing wrong.”

“It still feels that I should, Daddy; I know it’s been many years but I remember it as if it happened yesterday. And I still feel the shame of it.”

Pulling Lana back he looked deeply into her eyes so she would not only hear his words but believe in them. “There is only one person who should feel shame and that is your Mother; in fact, I don’t even know how you can think of her as your Mother anymore since I no longer think of her as my wife, just as the woman I’m married too. And that is a situation I plan on rectifying very quickly.”

“Oh, Daddy; please don’t do that on my account!”

Lewis just smiled at his little girl. “You don’t think I could ever stay married to a woman who would do such a thing to my little girl do you?”

Lana had never felt her father’s love more than she did at this moment in time; his gentle touch, his sincere words of wisdom and support; he was without a doubt the most wonderful father in the world and she felt incredibly blessed to have him in her life.

“Enough of this now; what I really want to know is what happened to you? Who was this Faora character and why did she try to hurt you? And where in the world is Clark?”

Now came more lies for Lana; she wished she could let her father in on the big secret; but that was a decision that Clark would have to make. “I imagine he’s at the Planet waiting for word from Superman on what happened to me.”

“Yes I was, but I’m here now.”

Father and daughter turned as one to see Clark standing in the doorway; Lana wasted little time in running into his arms. Lewis watched with satisfaction at the young couple; he hadn’t known Clark long but he had always prided himself on his ability to read people and what he saw in Clark brought a warmth to his heart in that he would bet his life that Clark would lay down his life in order to protect Lana. He couldn’t think of a better man to take care of his little girl.

“Good to see you again, Clark; and thank you for getting Superman to save Lana but she still hasn’t told me who this Faora was?”

“Superman explained it to me, at least what he could; it seems she comes from his home planet. She was insane and she used Lana and myself to get close to Superman in order to kill him. Fortunately, he was able to turn the tables on her and saved Lana in the process; he has since assured me that she will never bother anyone ever again.”

Lewis just scratched his chin in contemplation as he considered what a friendship with The Man of Steel entails. “Maybe being his friend is too dangerous for either of you?”

Lana looked up at Clark wondering what he thought about her father’s reservations about Superman; she didn’t have to wait long. “There are many dangers in this world, Lewis; his are just more pronounced than most; Lex wasn’t Superman’s enemy and he caused us almost if not more trouble than Faora. Life isn’t easily or simple; it’s just something we need to contend with, the only other choice is to live out our lives in a glass bubble without any interaction with the human race; and I refuse to live that way.”

“I agree, Daddy.”

“Now, why don’t the two of you go into the living room and make some coffee; I’ll join you as soon as I fix this ruined door.”

Lana kissed Clark on the cheek and then wrapped her arm around her father and guided him to the living room area. Clark picked up the door and used his heat vision to wield the hinges back into place; once done he saw that the locking mechanism was ruined and so he super speeded to the hardware store and picked up a replacement. Once installed he joined Lana and Lewis for some much deserved refreshment.

Walking into the living area, Clark found Lewis and Lana laughing as they talked; it seemed as if Lewis was trying to put the uncomfortable episode with his wife behind him, at least for tonight; Walking up to Lana he sat next to her and waited for the right moment to present itself.

“Lewis, I’m glad you’re here; because there’s something I’ve been meaning to do for some time now.”

“And what would that be, Clark?”

In response, Clark stood, turned and kneeled in front of Lana; reaching forward he took Lana’s hands in his own and then reached into his pocket and pulled out the box containing her engagement ring. “Lana, you’ve become the most important person in my life and someone I never want to be without ever again; What I’m trying to say, Lana, is that I love you with all my heart and soul. Lana Lang, would you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

Opening the box, Clark presented the ring to Lana already knowing what her response was going to be; but he was very surprised at what a good actress Lana was as tears began flowing down her face all over again; and she had once again lost the power of speech and could only nod her head yes in agreement. Slipping the ring on her outstretched hand; Clark picked Lana up in a deep hug and warm and loving kiss.

Lewis watched the whole event with jaw hanging open; it wasn’t often that a father witnessed his only daughter being proposed too or watching her accepts. Clark turned to look at Lewis after releasing Lana. “I assume we have your blessing, Lewis?”

“If you had any doubt of that, Clark; I don’t think you would have done this in my presence. So, yes you have my blessing and welcome to the family son.”

Hearing Lewis Lang call him son warmed Clark’s heart; he hadn’t had a real father figure in his life since Jonathan Kent had been died nearly 20 years ago. It would have been a perfect end to the day had it not been for the swarm of military vehicles screeching to a halt in front of Lana’s house….

[The Black Cat]

Awesome updates!!!

[NYC300Z]

The millitary has some nerve. What are they going to do kidnap citizens now?

PPMS!

[treker]

Chapter 39

“Enemy of the People”

Lewis and Lana hadn’t realized what was happening outside the house; Clark, however, had been alerted to the soldiers presence by his super hearing; a fact that was confirmed by using his x-ray vision to see the house being surrounded on all sides by the same military force they had encountered on the island. Walking over to the window Clark pulled the drape aside and looked outside.

“Clark, what’s going on?”

Clark looked back at Lana and Lewis and gave them both a meaningful glance; Lewis didn’t understand what it meant but Lana had a pretty good idea about what was happening. “Have they tracked us down?”

Lewis looked from Lana to Clark and back again not understanding what they were talking about. “Tracked who down? Who’s after you?”

Clark was thinking and trying to come up with a plausible explanation to justify how he would know about the soldiers; but it was Lana who covered for Clark with her father. “It has to do with Superman, Daddy; on our way back we were intercepted and some mysterious General tried to force Superman to submit to his authority.”

“For what purpose?”

Lana just shook her head. “He didn’t explain fully, but I have the opinion that he views Superman as a threat and is looking for a way to neutralize him.”

Shock exploded across Lewis’ face. “Neutralize? As in kill him?”

“That much is unclear; I think they want to control him, but for what purpose I have no idea.”

Clark’s mind was working at near super speed as he ran through all the variables and possible outcomes as he came to one conclusion; he had to take control of the situation away from the military without involving Superman. Walking out into the foyer, Clark picked up the phone and made several phone calls in succession calling the planet and every other newspaper and TV station in town to get a crowd of reporter’s to Lana’s house and expose what the military was doing and how it involved Superman. The mere mention of Superman was more than enough incentive to get the cavalry out to Lana’s home in lightening speed.

The Major in charge had been about to charge the house when all hell broke loose in the form of the press; it was at this point that Clark, Lana and Lewis came out of the house and onto the porch. “Now that my fellow reporters are here maybe you gentlemen would explain what you’re doing here?”

The officer in charge approached Lana and Clark. “I’m Major Jack O’Neil and in the name of national security I’m going to have to insist that Lana Lang accompany us back to our base of operations.”

“For what purpose?”

“That’s on a need to know basis, sir; and you don’t need to know.”

Lewis narrowed his eyes in anger and anticipation when faced with the reality that the military was trying to take his little girl for some purpose that he couldn’t even fathom; but, it was Clark who was truly surprising Lewis as he stepped between Lana and the soldiers trying to take her.

“You’ll only take my fiancé’ over my dead body Major O’Neil; and I don’t think having the military murder one of its citizen’s on National TV is going to sit too well with your superior’s or do anything for the image of the President of the United States; who just happens to be your Commander and Chief.”

Major O’Neil walked up within a few feet of Clark, refusing to back down. “Sir, no one said anything about murdering anyone; but, I will arrest you for interfering with official government business.”

Clark smiled. “I assume you have a warrant for Ms. Lang’s arrest? Or mine for that matter?”

“We’re the Government, sir; we don’t need a warrant.”

“Oh, contraire mon frère; this is the United States and no one can be seized without due process. No warrant, no cooperation.”

At this point several police cars as well as a car driven by non other than Perry White showed up; Perry rushed up to Clark and Lana. “Clark, what in the name of all that’s holy is going on here?”

Clark recognized one of the reporters in the crowd; it was Nancy from the city beat. She smiled and winked at Clark, he nodded his thanks as he realized who must have called Perry, he resolved to buy her a nice bouquet of flowers in thanks after this was all over. “Well, Perry; it seems these gentlemen think they can take whoever they want without due process. Since when did this country become a police state?”

Perry wanted to know the answer to that question himself; turning to the Major he launched a tirade at him that had him backing up several steps. “WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, SON?”

“My name is Major….”

“SHUT UP!!!!!!! IT WAS A RETORICAL QUESTION MAJOR; I DON’T GIVE A RAT’S BUTT WHO THE HELL YOU ARE. NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE ABDUCTS CITIZENS IN THIS COUNTRY AS LONG AS I HAVE A NEWSPAPER TO FIGHT WITH. I’M GOING TO BRING SUCH A RAIN OF CRAP DOWN ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD THAT YOU’LL BE LUCKY IF YOU ONLY GET BUSTED TO PRIVATE AND SENT TO THE ANTARTIC….DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!!!!!!!”

Major O’Neil had no idea what to do next; there were camera’s and reporter’s everywhere and now the police where here questioning his men about where their documents where to detain a private citizen who had committed no crime. Walking back to his Jeep he pulled out his Radio Phone and called the General who had ordered Miss Lang’s arrest. Once he had informed him of the public relations nightmare he had walked into and the fact that Perry White, whom the General knew only to well, he was ordered too pack up and leave immediately.

Watching the Military pull out, Clark and Lana turned to Perry and Clark shook his hand. “Thank you for the backup, Perry; it was looking bleak for a minute there.”

“This is no place to talk, Clark; let’s go in the house and compare notes. I have a bad feeling I know who is behind this.”

As Clark, Lana, Lewis and Perry prepared to discuss the current set of circumstances; far off on the remote island where Superman had been forced to land with Lana; General Lucas Luthor raged at the audacity of the media and how they thought they could interfere with the workings of the military.

“General, is this woman really worth all the trouble this is causing us?”

General Luthor gave the man addressing him a look that should have killed him instantly. “Trouble? And how much trouble do you think we’ll be in when we try to take Superman down without knowing what his weakness is?”

“Then maybe we should just let sleeping dogs lie.” General Luthor’s expression told him exactly what he thought of that idea. “I refuse to let our world continue to be at the mercy of this alien who would set himself up as our dictator.”

“Even though he is at present benevolent?”

“And just how long do you think that will last? Are you really willing to risk the safety of our civilization on the off chance that he was stay benevolent?”

As much as he hated to admit it, General Luthor had a point. “And what do you expect me to tell the President?”

“That the program will continue, but that it may take a turn that could be a public relations nightmare.”

Turning in disgust he left General Luthor to report back to the President; there were days when he hated his job, and this was one of those days. Of course, putting a positive spin on distasteful news was the core of his job as National Security advisor to the President of the United States. “Maybe I should just resign and find something less stressful; I hear Wall Street during the crash was less stressful…”

Lana set the tray of coffee and tea on the table as everyone helped themselves; Lana didn’t know Perry White well but she could see that something was deeply disturbing him, something that she felt was in direct connection to herself. “Okay, Perry; I can see that you’re trying not to tell us something distasteful so you might as well spill.”

Clark also had the same feeling but he had come to realize that no one rushed Perry White. Perry took a long deep breath before sipping his coffee and then giving up to the inevitable. “There’s no easy way for me to say this, but you deserve to know this especially after what Lex did to you.”

“Lex? What does any of this have to do with him?”

“Lex Luthor has an older brother; and he happens to be a General in the Military.”

Lana and Clark both swore at the same time; seeing his little girl use such language caused Lewis to become red faced with embarrassment. “Lana Elizabeth Lang, I never taught you to talk that way.”

“Sorry, Daddy; but I thought I was through with the Luthor’s of the world.”

“Through with Lex Luthor? My dear, surely you’re not that naïve?”

Clark looked at Perry and wished he had shown a little more tact than that; yes he had the same thoughts but he never would have been so insensitive about it. “Perry, let’s tone it down a notch.”

“Great Caesar’s ghost Clark; didn’t you just see what happened on the street? You two don’t have time for subtle.”

Lewis stood and walked over to the window, looking out over the city he had to admit that he agreed with Perry. “We have to take this public.”

“What?”

Lewis turned and looked as serious as Lana had ever seen him before. “Lana, my dear, all evil needs to win is for good people to stand by and do nothing; or, as in this case, for good people to remain silent while evil prospers behind closed doors. Superman is a symbol to the human race; if it were known what was being done behind closed doors then nothing they do would mean a damn because the public wouldn’t stand for it.”

Clark had to admit that Lewis had a point, and with Perry’s contacts in the news media along with the resources of the planet it would be child’s play to expose this conspiracy to the public. “Okay, so how do we go about doing this?”

Perry stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner before replying. “We hold a press conference at the Planet as soon as possible. Do you think you can get Superman there?”

Clark looked down at Lana with a smirk on his face. “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea of how to reach him.”

“I should be there too; since I seem to be the focus of the brass in the military; although how they think I can help them find Superman’s weakness I’ll never know.” Lana looked up at Clark with a worried expression on her face; it was a look which didn’t escape the notice of her father. In fact, the more Lewis thought about it the more he realized that Clark always seemed to be absent when Superman was around. And why was it that he and he alone knew how to get in touch with Superman all the time; could there be some deep dark secret that his little girl had yet to reveal to him?

Perry stood and started heading for the door. “Let’s get going, Clark; we have a press conference to set up and a certain General Luthor to humiliate.”

Clark looked over both Lewis and Lana. “Maybe we should all leave together for safety; it will take longer to pull the conference together than it will to reach Superman; and I’d feel better if we were all together at the planet.”

Lana slipped her hand within Clark’s and gently squeezed it. “As long as I’m by your side I know I can come to no harm.”

Clark smiled at his love as Perry just shook his head grumbling about young love; Lewis, on the other hand, said nothing as more and more of the pieces to a complex puzzle were coming together in his head; but he just kept telling himself that he must have been wrong as he followed Perry, Lana, Clark and Perry out the door.

Meanwhile, General Luthor was paying a social visit of his own before making another try at securing the elusive Lana Lang. The guard escorted him to the waiting area as the prisoner in question was brought to see him; however, the sight of his younger brother being brought in in leg irons and chains made his blood boil. “WHAT IN BLAZES IS THIS ALL ABOUT, HE’S NOT SOME ANIMAL TO BE CHAINED!”

“I have my order’s General.”

Lex held up his hand to stop another outburst from his older brother. “It’s of no consequence, Lucas; I made my bed and now I’ll just have to lay in it.”

Lucas just looked at Lex in disgust. “Who are you and what have you done with Lex?”

“Under different circumstances I might find time to be amused; but as it stands my humor is on a permanent vacation. What brings you to see me?”

Lucas sat down across from Lex. “Do I need a reason to visit my brother?” Lex’s expression showed what he thought of his attempt at being coy. “Okay, fine. I wanted to find out anything you might know about Superman, or more specifically, if you had any idea what his weakness was?”

Lex just laughed at him. “What’s so funny?” After Lex stopped laughing he became very serious. “How did you ever get promoted to General with such a simplistic view on military tactics? Do you really think I’d be sitting in here cooling my heel’s if I had any clue as to what his weakness was? Assuming there even is a weakness.”

“I refuse to accept that possibility.”

Lex sat back and studied his brother intently. “Why are you doing this?”

Lucas shot him a look that sent chills down Lex’s spine. “You have to ask? He’s responsible for putting you here along with that Lang *****.”

“I never took you for being the type to go after someone in revenge; especially not on my behalf.”

“You’re family, Lex; and no one does this to a Luthor and gets away with it.”

Lex smiled again. “Father would not approve.” Lucas just sneered at Lex. “Since when do I give a damn what that bastard thinks?”

Lex was surprised by his brother’s feelings about their father, but it didn’t matter to him since he had stopped caring about his father years ago; and he really didn’t care much about his brother either since this is the first sign of brotherly concern out of him in years. “So, what’s your end game here General?”

“What else do you think it is; I plan on exposing Superman as a fraud and then I’m going to kill him.”

Clark had to admit one thing, Perry White had to be the most influential news man in the business; just the word that he had a major announcement concerning Superman and that everyone should be at the Press Conference he was holding had every newspaper and TV Station in attendance; And word was that the newsfeed was going to be worldwide since he had told everyone it concerned the future of our favorite Superhero. Perry started the press conference with a brief statement.

“Thank you all for attending; First off let me introduce you all to someone that the local media should be very familiar with….Lana Lang.” Lana walked up to the podium next to Perry. “Now, first off you should all know that Miss Lang here is a local artist who has never been in trouble with the law but for some reason the military has tried to forcibly abduct her twice.”

Suddenly, Lana was being bombarded by a dozen questions. “Wait, one at a time; first of all, I was in trouble and Superman saved my life. After which, Superman was flying me back home when some fighter jets surrounded us and forced Superman to fly to an island in the pacific taking me with him.”

“Excuse me, Miss Lang; but how could anyone force Superman to do anything he didn’t want to do?”

“Because he was afraid for my safety; he knew that there was nothing that they could do to him, but as for me, my life was in serious jeopardy so he complied. Once we landed on the island, marines surrounded us and a General wanted to take me into custody because he said that I knew what Superman’s weakness is and he wanted that information.”

“And do you?”

Putting on the best poker face she knew Lana lied. “If I did know of such a weakness I would never divulge it; however, deception is not necessary since, as far as I know, Superman has no weaknesses. But, the story doesn’t end there, because after I finally get home to my fiancé the Military shows up again trying to take me away without a warrant or anything, they even said they didn’t need one to arrest me because it was in the interest of National Security.”

At this moment Superman swooped down from the sky and Landed neatly beside Lana and Perry; he had a neutral expression on his face as he greeted Perry and Lana and then addressed the Press. “Good afternoon Ladies of Gentlemen.”

Several reporters started screaming questions at Superman all at the same time; Perry raised his hands to quiet everyone down. “People, please; I believe Superman has a statement and then he’ll answer any questions you have for him.”

Superman smiled at Perry in gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. White; Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press please allow me to say how deeply distressed I am that a fellow citizen has been put into the middle of this power struggle that seems to have developed between myself and the military. Let me assure everyone that Miss Lang has no more knowledge of myself or any misguided attitudes toward any perceived weakness that I may or may not possess.”

“And do you have a weakness?”

Superman just smiled. “If I did it wouldn’t be very wise of me to tell you all about it or to let anyone else know about it now would It?” That one statement caused the entire press core to start laughing which seemed to break the tension in the air.

“Superman, what are you going to do about this standoff with the government?”

Superman lost all the humor out of his voice and stood for what seemed like the longest time just looking out at every reporter until he was certain he had their undivided attention. “Let me be as clear as I know how to be, I have done nothing but to help people in need and will continue to do so in the future. I was sent here as the last survivor of my planet to be an example of what we can all be in our lives; to be good, to be true, to be lawful and loving. I have no idea why the military would act the way they are but I can guarantee you that I will not retaliate unless they try to detain its citizens illegally in accordance with the constitution of the United States and the other nations of the world.”

“You still haven’t said why you feel the military is targeting you and Miss Lang?”

Perry stepped up to the Microphone and answered the question for Superman. “Perhaps the answer to that question lies in the identity of the General in question; his name is General Lucas Luthor, the older brother of Lex Luthor; the man who kidnapped Lana Lang and whom Superman recued Miss Lang from….”

The Press Conference erupted as reporters started screaming more questions; meanwhile, in Washington DC, the President of the United States had been watching the events unfolding in Smallville on the TV until he could not stand it anymore. “Get me General Luthor, NOW…..”

[The Black Cat]

Awesome chapter!!! PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 40


“A Father Knows..”

Lewis sat in the back seat as Clark and Lana chatted away as if they hadn’t a care in the world; Lewis, however, was analyzing every detail of their interaction. First he looked at Lana and next at Clark; it was a very warm afternoon and both he and Lana had a sheen of sweat on their skin, however, Clark didn’t seem to sweat at all as far as Lewis could tell; and that only seemed to reinforce his belief that Clark was in fact Superman.

And if that were in fact a reality then he had to wonder about Lana’s sanity for becoming involved with such a man. He liked both Clark and Superman as men but to have his little girl involved with a man whose very existence would put her life in such great danger was just not the smartest idea he had ever heard of.

Lana stopped talking with Clark as she noticed how quiet her father was being in the back seat. “Daddy, is everything ok?”

Lewis was broken from his thoughts by Lana’s question. “I’m fine, pumpkin; I’m just thinking.”

“Are you thinking about, Mom?”

Lana’s inquiry surprised Lewis. “What would make you think that?”

“Well, you only just broke up with her; it would be completely understandable to be thinking of her.”

Lewis narrowed his eyes dangerously. “I’ve wasted enough of my life worrying about that woman; and I refuse to waste anymore of my life on her, my lawyers can deal with her.”

Lana was shocked by the coldness in her father’s voice; it was so unlike him to be so cold and unfeeling toward someone he had spent most of his adult life with; looking over to Clark, she opened her mouth to ask for his help but Clark looked at her out of the corner of his eye and shook his head no so that only she could see it; Lana took the hint and let the matter drop until they could talk about it in private.

Clark pulled to a stop in front of her house and Lewis wasted little time in exiting the car and walking up to the house; Clark watched Lewis go and wondered what was really bothering him. Opening Lana’s door he helped her out of the car and saw the same concern in her own eyes. Putting his arm around her he lead her up the steps and resolved to have a private word with Lewis and find out what was really troubling the man.

As they walked into the house, Lana and Clark couldn’t help but notice that the air had a feeling of foreboding that didn’t sit well with either of them. Clark wondered what could have happened to turn Lewis in the direction he was going. Lana also wondered the same thing, but her thoughts had her wondering if her father had put 2 and 2 together and come up with the answer that the entire world wanted the answer too; and the question was ‘who was Superman?’

As they entered the living room they found Lewis standing at the window staring off into space; Lana could tell that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders just from the way he stood and the tension that played out on his back. “Daddy, what’s wrong?”

Lewis refused to turn and look at Lana for fear that he would lose his resolve or that she would see what he intended. “Pumpkin, I need to speak with Clark in private; could you leave us alone?”

Lana looked up at Clark in fear, now she was certain that he knew. Clark gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and let her know it was okay so she reluctantly left them alone and prayed she wasn’t making a big mistake.

“What’s on your mind, Lewis?”

Lewis turned and faced Clark with a look that told him that Lewis was about to start a conversation he wished he wouldn’t have to have. “It’s time for us to clear the air between us, Clark. Or should I call you Superman instead?”

Clark did the best he could to keep the shock off his face, how could Lewis have possibly pieced all of it together in such a short period of time? “Excuse me. What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lewis sighed. “Do you really want to play it that way, Clark?”

Clark’s eyes narrowed into slits as he sized up his fiancé’s father; Clark had a decision to make, did he try and trust Lana’s father or should he do everything in his power to convince him of the error of his conclusions? “What in the world makes you think that I could be Superman?”

Lewis didn’t know why he had thought this conversation would go differently, Clark did have a lot to protect and he could understand why he wouldn’t reveal his real identity unless it was absolutely necessary. “For one thing, you’re never around whenever Superman is.”

“That’s very thin reasoning, Lewis.”

“And for another thing, why is it that you and only you know how to reach Superman whenever he’s needed; and on top of that, why Lana always seem to be the focus of his attention?”

“Lewis….”

“And then there’s the door to the house, how did you repair it so quickly without any tools? Even a repair man couldn’t have fixed that door in that amount of time.”

As Clark tried to come up with another justification, he watched as Lewis walked over to the fireplace and pick up the iron poker. “Are you really going to make me prove that you’re Superman?”

Clark saw that Lewis’ hand was shaking, he knew that he didn’t want to have to do what he was threatening; but he also knew that he was serious about carrying out his threat. “No, Lewis; you don’t have to make me prove it. You’re right, I am Superman.”

Lewis put the poker back as a profound sadness played across his face. “What are you doing, Clark? Why would you get involved with Lana knowing who and what you are and what danger your relationship would bring to her?”

Clark walked over to the window and looked out over the city. “You don’t think I haven’t had that argument with myself a hundred times? But, when I ask myself if Lana would be better off without me and the truth is that Lana has always been the type of person who attracts men who mean her harm. There was the guy in Paris and then let’s not forget Lex; that little kidnapping had nothing to do with Superman and everything to do with Lex’s desire to possess Lana, and if Superman hadn’t been in her life she would probably still be a prisoner in Lex’s mansion.”

Lewis could see the logic in Clark’s argument but it still did nothing to alleviate his concern for his daughter’s welfare. “But, Clark; can you even have a relationship with her? You’re not even human are you?”

Clark had envisioned this conversation going in many ways, but not in this direction; he thought Lewis had a more evolved attitude than the one he was displaying right now. “And just what does it mean to be human, Lewis?”

Lewis opened and closed his mouth several times not knowing what to say to that question. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a simple question, Lewis; what do you think it means when you call yourself human?”

Lewis didn’t even know how to begin to answer that question; he thought he knew the answer but to be able to justify it to a man who wasn’t even a member of the race of people who inhabited the planet earth was not something he had been prepared to discuss. “What I really mean to ask you is whether it is safe for the two of you to have a relationship the way a man and woman who are committed to each other would.”

“I take it you’re referring to sex, a family and children?”

Lewis blushed for the first time in 20 years. “Well, I wouldn’t have been so blunt about it, but yes.”

“Yes, Lewis; it’s safe.”

“But, how can you be so sure?”

Clark smiled and looked upon Lewis as an adult would look upon a curious child. “Lewis, for all your people’s accomplishments you know very little about the anatomy of your own bodies and how they relate toward other species in the universe or for that matter anything in the cosmos. Krypton discovered these secrets eons ago and that knowledge is passed from father to son as they mature into adulthood.”

“Krypton?”

“Yes, Krypton; my home world, and I am Kal-el of Krypton; last surviving son of a race which dominated the stars before you’re sun had even given shape to this planet.”

Lewis felt overwhelmed and sat down lowering his head into his hands. “I’m guessing you never read the article Chloe Sullivan did on me in the planet?” Lewis just nodded his head, he had heard about it but had never actually read it for himself. “Well, you now know more than what was in that article; and it’s more than I wish you knew.”

Lewis looked up. “Because it places you in danger?”

“No, because it places you in danger as well as Lana; it would have been better if you had left well enough alone.”

Lewis had to admit that he agreed with Clark or Kal-el or whatever he was supposed to call him now. “And just how am I supposed to address you now? Clark? Kal-el?”

“I prefer Clark, it’s safer and it’s the name I’ve been called all of my life until recent events.”

Lewis looked up at Clark. “Why are you here?”

“Because my father believed that the people of earth have great potential; a potential to exceed even the accomplishments of Krypton itself if they are just shown the way; and that is why he sent me, his only son, to show your people the way to a better future.”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that, Clark.”

Clark walked over and sat across from Lewis looking him directly in the eye. “You don’t have to, Lewis; it’s not your problem, but it is my destiny. Lana knows all this and understands and accepts what I have to do with my life.”

“You’re asking too much of her, Clark.”

“It’s her choice to make, Lewis and I’ve made it clear to her that she is free to break things off with me anytime she feels she cannot cope with what I have to do on this world.”

“You should take the choice out of her hands for her own good.”

In the back of his mind he had considered what Lewis was telling him he needed to do but he could not find it in himself to let Lana go. “That’s not his decision to make, Daddy; and for you to suggest it disappoints me more than I can say.”

“But, Lana; you’re in danger.”

“Yes I am, but that’s my choice; not yours and not Clark’s. It’s my life and if I choose to spend it with Clark, even knowing what that means, then that’s my choice.”

Lewis knew when he had lost an argument. “Do you know of the weakness that General Luthor is looking for?”

“Superman has no weakness, Daddy.” Lana felt like she had been kicked in the gut for lying to her father like that, but she had no choice if she was to protect the man she loved.

Clark rose from his chair; and looked at both Lewis and Lana. “We’ve brought General Luthor into the light of public opinion with the press conference but if we are to stop him for good there is only one way to accomplish that fact; I need to talk to his boss, I need to talk to the President of the United States.”

As Clark said his goodbyes to Lana and Lewis and took to the skies toward Washington DC; General Luthor entered the oval office of the President. He wasn’t happy about being called before his Commander and Chief because it meant that he was wavering on the mission that they had agreed upon. “Mr. President.”

“Welcome, Lucas; have a seat.”

“May I ask why you’ve recalled me to Washington, Mr. President?”

President Peter Ross was a fair man, someone who believed in his convictions; but he was also a man who recognized that while he didn’t need public support to do what was necessary; it was also not wise to ignore public outcry at what it perceived as governmental misconduct toward the greater good of the country; and 95% of Americans believed that Superman was above reproach when his actions were called into question; and he had turned the public’s opinion against the military with the press conference earlier in the day.

“Don’t play stupid, Lucas; you know perfectly well why you’re here. Superman has turned the tables on you in the court of public opinion and it’s time to change your strategy.”

“I really don’t give a rat’s ass what the public thinks, Mr. President; my job is to protect them, even if I have to protect them from themselves.”

Peter just sat back and shook his head at his General. “Well, I care what they think and since I’m your boss that means you care what they think also; understood?”

Lucas just sat in silence as he took his President’s instructions. “Lana Lang is to be left alone.”

General Luthor stood up abruptly. “But she knows what his weakness is.”

“SIT DOWN, GENERAL; THAT’S AN ORDER!” General Luthor sat back down as President Ross continued. “Lucas, you don’t know if she knows about a weakness or even if such a weakness even exists; going after her is not only wrong, morally; it will turn the public against us and probably all of congress as well.”

“I think you overestimate the public’s influence over our government; they’ll believe what we tell them to believe because that’s what they want. They don’t want to have to deal with any of this, that’s why they elect people to make decisions for them.”

“I don’t think the President is that naïve or stupid, General.” Turning at the sound of another voice both General Luthor and President Ross were shocked to see Superman standing in the doorway leading out into the rose garden.

“Guards, the President is under attack.” General Luthor was screaming for the MP’s in the hall to come in and attack Superman and they would have had not both Superman and President Ross called for calm. The President stopped the guards just as they entered his office. “That’s enough, Superman is not here to cause trouble; am I right?” President Ross looked over his shoulder at the man of steel who nodded his head in agreement.

After the guards left, General Luthor was standing in rage at Superman’s appearance. Superman noticed this and ignored it as he addressed the President. “Mr. President, after recent events I thought it best if I introduced myself to you and thought it far past time we had a talk about the press conference earlier today.”

Pete just laughed to himself. “I think that the press conference was self explanatory don’t you, Superman?”

Despite everything, Superman liked this President. “Yes, I guess you could say it was; however, I think it was far past the time that we talked; you need to know that I’m not your enemy and despite what your General here thinks I would never turn against the people of this world. I’m here to help, not to harm.”

“You don’t really expect us to buy that load of crap do you?” General Luthor was spewing pure venom at Superman; something that President Ross was starting to see was something more than a desire to protect the public against a perceived threat and more of a desire for revenge for what Superman had done to his family, or more specifically, to Lex Luthor.

“I assure you Superman that as long as you hold to your word and don’t go against the public welfare that you’ll have no more trouble with the military; you have my word on that.”

President Ross extended his hand to Superman who took a long hard look at Peter Ross and sized the man up; he decided that this was a man of his word and someone whom he could trust. Reaching out Superman shook President Ross’ hand as General Luthor’s blood pressure continued to rise seeing how the President was bending his will to this alien scum.

[The Black Cat]

Another wonderful update. PPMS!!!

[treker]

Chapter 41

“A Private Conversation”

After shaking President Ross’ hand, Superman turned to General Luthor and smiled at him in a way that let the General know that he had the upper hand and intended on keeping it. “Say hi to Lex for me, General.” Walking over to the door he took to the sky as General Luthor’s face turned several shades of red.

“Drop it, Lucas; that’s an order.”

Lucas turned to his commander in chief as if he couldn’t believe what he was being told to do. “You can’t really expect me to just drop this Mr. President; that freak is a threat to national security.”

Pete just sighed, he so hated having to explain things to military types; his experience was that the military only saw things as black and white, without any room for the grey area’s. And Superman certainly fell into a grey area if ever he saw one. “Whether Superman is a threat to national security or not is not your call to make, General; it’s mine, and as your commander in chief I expect you to follow orders; IS THAT CLEAR!”

General Luthor had not gotten where he was by not knowing how to play politics when the need called for it; and he knew that further antagonizing the President was not a good military strategy at the moment. “Yes Sir!”

Turning on his heel he marched out the door of the oval office and slammed it shut; President Ross walked behind his desk and sat down as if the weight on his shoulders had just been doubled; and being President, that weight had already been considerable.

“It can’t be easy having to deal with the military, especially when the one in question is a Luthor.”

President Ross turned in shock as Superman had returned to his door. “I hope you don’t think that door is your own private entrance into my office?”

Superman stepped in and seated himself across from Pete and chose his words carefully. “Mr. President; I do respect your position and the fine line you are forced to walk in balancing the needs of the nation as well as your responsibility in commanding the military forces of this country; but you have to realize that you’re dealing with a Luthor here.”

Pete sat back and interlaced his fingers together over the bridge of his nose as he gazed into the eyes of a man who could burn him to a crisp at his compulsion should he desire to do so; and yet he seemed to sense that this man was so far above that type of action that it was simply unacceptable to ever consider harming anyone. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It has been my experience that families have traits; attitudes and actions that are inherited in most family’s as a result of their environment and upbringing. Lex Luthor is a prime example of this; and his brother tried to harm an innocent woman all in the name of national security when there was no proof that she could even provide him with the information he sought; this is exactly the type of tactic’s that Lex Luthor would use and I fear that soon your General is going to decide that following your directives is just more trouble than it’s worth.

Pete’s eyebrows shot up into his head. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying? You’re talking about treason from a career military officer.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time in history that such a thing has happened.”

“Not in this country, Superman; and not by that man.”

Superman leaned forward and stared intently at Peter Ross so that he would see how serious he was about the situation. “I just wanted you to know that I was concerned and felt that you needed to be warned; I also wanted you to know that you can count on me should you need me.”

Pete looked at Superman without knowing what to think of the man. “Just why are you here, Superman?”

Superman sat back stroking the side of his chin. “Didn’t you read the article on me in the Daily Planet?”

“Well, Yes; but it seemed so outrageous that I thought they must have gotten it wrong.”

“They didn’t; I’m not of this world Mr. President; I come from a Planet that destroyed itself over 500 of your years ago.”

Pete leaned forward. “But, why were you sent here; what’s your purpose for coming to this planet?”

“Because my father believed that your race was worthy of saving from itself; and it is my destiny to both protect and show the people of this world that there is a better way; a way of truth and justice, that being good to each other should be the rule and not the exception; and then, maybe, mankind will achieve the greatness that my father saw that they were capable of.”

Peter had heard many stories in his life and none of them had left him speechless; until now. “I don’t even know how to respond to that, Superman.”

Rising from his seat Superman walked over to the door once again; turning back to the President he left him with one final thought. “You don’t have to respond Mr. President; just know that I’ll be watching, and should you need me I will be there for you. Good day.”

Lifting off once again into the sky, Pete rose and walked to the window to watch him leave; it both awed him and terrified him that a being could do everything that Superman could do. And it was that feeling that made him understand General Luthor and his attitude toward Superman; but it was also why he couldn’t allow Lucas to continue with his vendetta against the man of steel; for he also knew in his gut that Superman was also right about the General’s loyalty toward his family, and the fact that Lex was going to spend the rest of his life in prison due to his actions in connection to Superman must have been eating him alive.

Walking back too his desk he picked up the phone. “Betty, get me the Secretary of Defense; tell him I want to talk to him about reassigning General Luthor.”

As Superman was leaving the White House; Lana and Lewis were sitting down for some coffee, the conversation had been rather strained until Lewis finally said what had been eating away at him since Clark had left. “Lana, I want you to break things off with Clark.”

Lana started coughing as she had been in mid sip and almost gagged on her coffee at her father’s suggestion. “Excuse me? Why in the world would you want me to leave Clark?”

“You know why, Lana.”

“I love him, Daddy.”

Lewis knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but he was convinced it was for the best. “Just because you love someone, doesn’t mean that they are good for you; and in your case, that also mean he’s not safe for you. You’ve been in more physical danger since you’ve moved to Metropolis than at anytime in your life, Lana. This has to stop!”

Lana wasn’t angry with her father, because she knew where it was coming from; but she also had to show him that her commitment toward Clark was total and no one, not even her father, was going to drive her away from the man she loved. “It’s my life and my decision, Daddy; and besides, I was in danger before I ever even meet Clark; remember Lex Luthor? If it hadn’t been for Clark I’d still be a prisoner in his mansion.”

Lewis didn’t know what to say to that; because Lana was right, she had been taken prisoner before she became involved with Clark and he had been the one to save her. Lana could see the conflict going on behind her father’s eyes; rising from her seat she walked over and sat next to him and took his hands in her own. “Daddy, he means everything to me; I can’t even describe it too you what he means to me. He’s apart of me as I am apart of him; I can’t even tell you where I end and he begins because we are of the same spirit, the same heart; I’d rather be dead than not be with him.”

Lewis looked deeply into his angel’s eyes and could see the emotion displayed there; and what was worse was that he knew exactly how she felt; it had been how he had felt about Laura when they had first married. He could only hope that Lana and Clark had a happier ending than what he had just endured in his own marriage. “Are you sure you can handle what is too come in your relationship with him?”

“Whatever obstacles we encounter we’ll deal with them together, as a family.”

Lewis looked one final time into Lana’s eyes and surrendered to the inevitable for in reality there never had been anything he wouldn’t do for Lana and if she really wanted Clark then he just couldn’t find it in his heart to stand in her way. “Okay, Pumpkin; I’ll give you both my support, I just hope you don’t regret it in the end.”

Lana squealed in delight as she threw herself into her father’s arms. “Oh thank you, Daddy; I promise you that you won’t regret it.”

“What’s going on?”

Lana saw Clark enter the living room and rushed to his side. “Daddy has just given us his blessing.” Clark looked at Lewis in surprise since he had the impression that was the last thing on his mind when he had left. Walking over to Lewis, Clark extended his hand in friendship. “I promise you I’ll protect her with my life, Lewis.”

“I believe you son; and you can call me dad you if want since we’re going to be family.”

The smile that lit up Clark’s face brightened the entire room. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to call any man my father; Thanks again, Dad.”

“You’re welcome, Son; Well, I know it’s been a long day for us all but I feel like celebrating; who’s up for dinner out on the town in celebration?”

Clark looked to Lana who smiled in agreement and that was all Clark needed. “Sounds good; you make the reservations while we get changed. I’ll just speed home and get a change of clothes.”

Clark gave Lana one more long lingering kiss and then disappeared in a flash. “Man that boy is fast; does he do that all the time?”

Lana just nodded her head yes. “You’ll get used to it after awhile; now I have to run and get beautiful for both of my guys.” Lewis watched as Lana ran up the stairs with a hop and a skip in her step and he could have sworn he heard her singing; she had not done that in a very long time and that more than anything told him how happy Clark made his daughter and that should be enough for any father to expect from his future son in law.

[NYC300Z]

I just caught up I had missed a few updates. So much happened. I wonder whatg Lucas is planning? Will he try a millitary coup? Will he free lex? Will he capture Lana? Find Kal's Weakness?

So many possibilities!