Beyond Smallville: Evolutions pt 1

[gardy1]

Hi everyone: This is my first post to Kryptonsite and It's doing really well. I have several new stories coming, most of which revolve around CLois. Evolutions is a multichapter story concurrent with Season 8.

This post contains chapters 1 through 9 of Evolutions.

Teaser: Moving On (Rated PG-13, Themes)

Lois Lane sat dejectedly alongside the makeshift fireplace near the antique brick wall in Lana’s old apartment above the Talon Coffee Shop. Her younger cousin Chloe Sullivan had just come in after a late night date with Jimmy Olsen. Lois wolfed down the last of her ice cream.

She’d polished off a full quart over the course of the evening. "Wow! You’re really in the dumps, aren’t you Lo’?" Chloe asked worriedly. At least it hadn’t been a fifth of Gentleman Jack, she thought sourly. "Yeah, you might say that, Chlo’." Lois replied.

"How was your date with the ace photographer?" She added, unable to keep the hint of bitterness out of her voice. "Okay, but my guess is that you don’t particularly care right now. Do you want to talk about it?" Chloe sat next to the pretty twenty-two year old.

"I don’t know. I mean, shouldn’t I be happy?" Lois was truly perplexed. "I finally got the job at the Daily Planet, following in your footsteps, all my bills are paid for, the General and Lucy have made up..." Her voice trailed off. "But...?" Chloe prodded.

Lois curled up into a ball on the well worn couch, tucking her feet beneath her. "I mean, it’s not as if guys are pounding on my door for a date." Chloe suppressed a smile. Oh is that all? She silently felt relieved. "Boy problems...or lack thereof." Lois nodded sheepishly.

"Pretty pathetic, huh?" Chloe shook her head and grabbed a box of potato chips, snapping off the boxtop in the process. "No Lois. It’s just the normal dating blues.

I’m like the queen of unrequited love, but for what it’s worth, you’re still young, you’ve plenty of time to find Mr. Right. Besides, with your new position at the Planet, dating will be the last thing on your mind."

Lois stared at her like a deer in the headlights. "Not helping, huh?" Chloe admitted. "Sorry Lo’ but I pretty much used up all my great speeches on a certain troublesome farm boy we know. I swear trouble comes looking specifically for Clark." That’s no joke, either.

"At least Lana’s back to normal." Lois said, though Chloe thought she noticed a decided lack of sincerity in her voice. "Well, not really. Lana is no longer comatose, but she’s far from back to normal. To be honest, I don’t think that she’ll be coming back from this disaster."

"That sucks." Lois remarked. Now that sounds more like my Lois, Chloe thought cynically. "Clark can pull her through right?" Lois added hopefully. "I don’t know, cuz. She was talking about leaving Smallville for good this time." Chloe informed her.

"Then Clark’s going to sell the farm and go wherever with her?" Lois probed. Chloe noted that her downtrodden cousin seemed unusually interested in the Lana and Clark soap opera.

"I’m not sure. Clark’s not the same as he used to be anymore either. The last four years have been hell on all of us, space aliens, meteor freaks, and crazed megalomaniacs to boot."

Lois had begun to consider a new crazy idea that Chloe knew nothing about. "I thought this was your pity party, how did we get on the subject of Lana and Clark?" Chloe asked.

"You’re right. Care to help me wallow in some more ice cream?" Lois attempted to grin, yet came up short. "Sure. What is family for, if not to contribute to your cholesterol poisoning?"

This is a start up post; Enjoy,
Thanks
Gardy

Chapter 1.0

24 Hours Later:

Lois Lane sat dejectedly on the couch near the makeshift fireplace in the apartment above the Talon. She’d polished off one quart of her favorite ice cream already. “Is that all of it?” She muttered aloud. I swear these containers are getting smaller. She dug into the freezer.

Lois scraped the last bits of ice cream from the bottom of the carton. Her cousin and roommate Chloe Sullivan was out with her young beau, Jimmy Olsen. Since being fired by Lex Luthor from her dream job at the Daily Planet, Chloe had been secretly working for Oliver Queen.

The young millionaire had created a band of misfits, four guys and a gal, with unusual or special abilities. Chloe had been made an unofficial member of the group. Lois hadn’t seen much of her younger cousin at all. This made the nights and weekends much lonelier for her.

At first Lois wished that Oliver had made her part of his mysterious group rather than Chloe. Still, she was glad to be out of that type of relationship. Oliver had gone missing too many times. She’d later discovered that Oliver was secretly known as the infamous Green Arrow.

I need to get some stability in my life, Lois thought wistfully as she tossed the empty ice cream carton into the recycling bin. Ollie would have just dragged me all over the world like a spare set of luggage just like my father, the General, used to do when I was growing up.

I need a guy that would always be there for me, no matter how much trouble I get myself into, Lois mused. He can’t be too boring, dumb as a box of rocks, or too wimpy either. She started to dig through her dirty laundry. She spied a brown and red plaid shirt mixed in with everything else.

This shirt isn’t mine, Lois turned it inside out. It looks like Clark’s. She dropped the shirt back into the laundry pile. She stopped in her tracks. Of course! It’s so obvious! Lois thought excitedly. Who do I know that’s handsome, loyal, and trustworthy? Clark Kent!

With a burst of energy and a renewed sense of purpose, Lois hopped into the shower then threw on her best low cut blouse, denim skirt, and most comfortable shoes. There’s still the matter of Lana, Lois considered as she fluffed up her brownish blonde mane of hair.

He’ll just have to get over her. Lois insisted. Word is that she left him again for Europe. It’ll take some time, but I’ll make him forget about her with some effort…a lot of effort. She grinned lustily as she put on her brightest shade of red lipstick, and grabbed her leather travel bag.

Lois noticed a medium-sized brown envelope that she’d earlier placed on the breakfast bar. It had come in the mail this morning. She’d forgotten to open it. Lois picked it up and examined the return address. “Nelly Blye?” She said aloud. Oh no! This can’t be good news!

Lois and Chloe had agreed to adopt that code in case of an emergency. No one else, aside from Clark, could know what the significance of Nelly Blye was. Chloe was in desperate trouble! “Crap! It’s always something!” Lois opened the envelope, which was addressed to her.

She found two DVD discs wrapped in one of Chloe’s tee shirts. The envelope also contained a handwritten letter from her younger cousin. It read: LO’ We’re in big trouble. You know that I’ve been working for Oliver since Lex axed my job from the Planet. We’re going into deep cover now.

The problem is that Lex’s goons and some Feds from the Department of Homeland Security are trailing us. I’m sending out eight data discs to four separate people we know. Three of them don’t know each other at all. The only common links are Clark and I.

Each set of two discs has a different level of encryption. Your set has the lowest security level. Given that you’re technology challenged most of the time, I’ve written the encryption access codes on a scrap piece of paper and hidden it in Clark’s barn. Nice Chloe! Lois smirked.

I taped it to the underside of Mr. Kent’s upright tool cart. Use these codes to decipher your two discs. The information is paramount. For Clark’s eyes only! Get out now! The Talon is being watched by both Lex’s goons, and the Feds. “Oh gawd!” Lois exclaimed out loud.

Call Clark immediately, the letter continued. Sorry cuz! You’ll have to cohabitate with our favorite farm boy. I know it will be awkward…Hey, at least there’s a good side to this, Lois grinned. All of our lives are at stake, Lo’, not to mention Oliver’s band of merry men.

The Feds are sending Jimmy back with a wire. Do not discuss any of this with him, trust only Clark. It would be nice if you managed to send DHS on some type of wild goose chase as well. Call Clark while the Talon is still open for business. Be careful, and avoid Kara, she may be compromised.

More later on discs…The mysterious letter abruptly ended. “Great! This is a nightmare!” Lois complained out loud. Damn! The Talon may be bugged! She realized. With Lex and the Feds on the prowl I wouldn’t doubt if they’ve placed cameras in the apartment. Creepy!

Lois flipped on her cell phone and speed dialed Clark’s number. “Hello? Smallville! Code red! Get over here to the Talon and pick me up, pronto! Talk to no one and don’t ask any stupid questions!” She said into Clark’s voice mail. She clicked off the phone and began to pack.

What makes them think that I’d be safer at the farm? Lois wondered silently. She tossed the discs into her travel bag, covering them with her underwear and a sky blue teddy. Lois smirked lustily as she folded her lingerie. For a joke, she threw Clark’s dirty shirt onto the pile as well.

Lois grabbed a suitcase and filled it with her blouses, skirts, shoes, sweats and tees. She shoved her laptop and a spare battery into it as well. Lois gulped as she also added her cousin’s Taser, and a Swiss Army knife with a six inch blade hidden within it. A girl scout, I’m not. She mused.

Clark received Lois’s urgent message and immediately grabbed his red jacket and truck keys. He surveyed the area with his x-ray vision, but saw no one. He drove to the Talon as quickly as he could. Things always manage to go to hell, he mentally groused.

Kara was trapped in the phantom zone, though Brainiac had been supposedly destroyed, and Lana had recovered fully from his infection. She was gone. All that remained was a DVD disc that she’d left to his attention. He‘d just opened it when Lois called.

Lois had specifically asked for him to pick her up. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was anxious or worried about something. Clark had called Chloe’s phone number to inform her of Lana’s change of condition, but she hadn’t answered the calls. That was never a good sign.

Clark pulled up in front of the Talon and casually walked in like a common customer. The patrons paid him little mind as he headed straight upstairs.

“Lois?” Clark knocked and immediately she opened the door and handed him her suitcase. “Uh, are we moving?” He asked sarcastically.

“Come here, Smallville.” Lois said as she guided him toward the rear window of the apartment. “See those two black SUVs waiting in the alley below? That’s not the Paparazzi looking to cover me for a story.” She remarked facetiously. Her heart beat faster being that close to Clark.

“That unmarked black sedan on the other side of the building, with the two apes in it, isn’t Smallville’s Finest waiting to bust me for unpaid parking tickets. We’re surrounded, Clark.” Lois pointed out worriedly. He shook his head. “We’re going to hide…” He began.

Lois had shoved her free hand over Clark’s mouth. She reached up on her toes and whispered in his ear: “Chloe’s in big trouble, again. We’re to go to your farm and hang out per her instructions.” She padded across the hardwood floor. He nodded and held the door open for her.

Clark easily carried her suitcase down the stairs into the main dining room of the Talon. Lois tossed her travel bag over her shoulder and followed him right out the front door. “Let’s go, Smallville, before our luck runs out.” She urged and quickly dumped her bag into the pick up cab.

Clark put her suitcase in the pick up bed, strapping it down. “Too late!” She added as a large goon in a black three piece suit came up behind Clark, and shoved a gun in his rib cage. “Going somewhere?” He growled. “Just on a romantic weekend vacation.” Lois joked.

A second thug in a gray pinstriped suit was approaching Lois from the opposite side of the street. He’d not displayed any type of weapon yet. “You don’t want to do that.” Clark warned his would be assailant. “Trust me!” He smirked, not in the mood for any games today.

The guy poked Clark in the ribs even harder. “Let’s go, tough guy.” The goon ordered. Clark hesitated briefly. He didn’t really want to attack a member of the Federal Government supposedly just doing his job, yet the gunman hadn’t shown any badge or I D. The creep could’ve been one of Lex’s minions. Clark made a snap decision. He carefully spun away from his abductor.

With blinding speed, Clark dodged the bullet, and tossed the attacker through the front window of the Talon. He’d need some stitches, but would survive. In the same motion, Clark grabbed the bullet before it hit anyone and smashed it into dust on the cement pavement.

The shot ringing out was all the distraction Lois needed as well. She dealt a vicious spin kick into the other thug’s gut, doubling him over. Just for fun she kneed him in the jaw, knocking him backwards and into the street. Cars screeched as the assailant fell limply before them.

Lois hopped into Clark’s truck. “C’mon Smallville! Quit fooling around back there!” She barked, making Clark wince.

Lois shoved past the thug and slipped into the driver’s seat. “I’ll drive!” Clark stared at her. “Uh, Lois…” He started to protest. “Get in!” Lois ordered as she cranked up the engine. He reluctantly climbed into the passenger’s seat.

The black sedan was effectively bottled up in the traffic jam that they’d created. Lois pulled a three point turn and zipped past the Talon. That left the second black SUV unaccounted for. Lois spotted it in the side view mirror. It was moving recklessly half on the sidewalk above the curb.

Pedestrians cursed and jumped out of the way. Lois cut through a small park’s main thoroughfare before heading off in the direction of Clark’s farm. Some people waved their fists in the air watching the pursuit. Others flipped them off. Lois sped off down Route 5.

The black SUV had somehow managed to stay with them. She rumbled down the highway nearly thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. “Uh…Lois…Don’t you think we ought to slow down?” Clark argued. She ignored him. “What have you done this time?” He asked angrily.

“Me?” Lois gave him her best innocent look. “The short version is that Chloe and your green leather clad pal have managed to piss off the Feds and Lex Luthor. Whatever scheme Oliver dragged Chloe into must’ve backfired on them.” She continued to haul butt between the wheat fields.

“I’m sorry Lois.” Clark apologized as back road after back road whizzed by them. “I didn’t mean to get you involved in all this.” Lois grinned brightly. “You know me, Smallville, trouble always seems to find me anyway.” Her eyes sparkled as her heart raced.

The black SUV was still trailing them and gaining ground quickly. “Hold on to your lunch, Smallville!” Lois yelled as she put the pick up into a skid and pulled a one eighty in the middle of a deserted intersection. She faced the late model truck back the way they’d come.

She stopped and revved up the engine. The large eight-cylinder growled as she juiced up the RPMs. “Lois? What are you doing?” Clark could guess, but hoped that he was wrong. “What’s the matter, Clarkie, you’ve never played ‘chicken’ before?” Lois smirked, on a major adrenaline surge.

“Relax, Smallville. I used to do it all the time back on the Army bases with the jeeps and Humvees.” Lois shamelessly boasted. “I never lost!” She continued to rev the engine. “Though this one time a corporal trashed a jeep, and my father, the General had him on KP for a month. He was not a happy soldier.” Lois rambled, filled with excitement.

The black SUV was just coming over the minor hill. “We can’t let them follow us, Clark. Showtime!” Lois said, revving up the truck one final time. “Lois!” Clark reached across her slim waist and pulled her seatbelt closer, clicking it in. “Buckle up!” He insisted.

Lois grinned lustily. “You buckle up! I’d hate to see that pretty boy face of yours kissing the pavement!” Especially when it should be kissing me, she thought. Clark complied, though he knew that it wasn’t likely that he’d get hurt. He was more worried about Lois being killed or injured.

The creeps in the SUV could’ve been Feds or Lex’s cronies, yet he didn’t want them killed or injured either. Clark wrestled with using his powers in front of Lois. Maybe I should just tell her the truth, he considered. His gut told him that it would be the right decision, yet not right now.

Lois punched the accelerator and the truck spun tires, kicking up a cloud of smoke, and leaving two large black burn marks in the pavement. She headed straight for the SUV.

Lois sent the truck barreling down the two lane highway, which was surrounded by ditches and cornfields.

Clark held on tight, ready to grab Lois if the stunt went awry. Lois thought that her life flashed before her eyes. A series of images invaded her mind. They attempted to distract her from the task at hand. She saw a man in a blue suit bracketed by a red cape, a dark tunnel leading to a bright light, and her in a white wedding dress.

A guy in a black suit with dark hair stood next to her, putting a ring on one finger. “Clark?” Lois muttered, just as the SUV swerved to avoid the onrushing pick up. She’d successfully called the goons’ bluff. Their SUV slid into a ditch, eventually landing in an irrigated cornfield.

Lois quickly turned Clark’s truck onto an access road that was perpendicular to the main highway of Route 5. Just for good measure, Clark had rolled down the window and used his heat vision to blow out both of the SUV’s rear tires.

That takes care of them for the moment, but they’ll be back, Clark thought silently as Lois continued on towards the farm. “Well done, Lois.” He said warily. “I’d rather not do it again!” She shrugged. “Hey Smallville, a little excitement is good for you. Gets the blood pumping!”

Soon they pulled up alongside the pristine ranch house. Clark searched the area including the house, with his x-ray vision, looking for any unwelcome visitors finding none. He then grabbed Lois’s suitcase and led her inside.

The laptop with Lana’s DVD message stood undisturbed where he’d left it. Lois immediately headed upstairs. She poked her head over the railing. “No one’s home, Clark?” She guessed.

“No.” He replied distractedly, opting to continue Lana’s message. It was far worse than he’d imagined. Lana had left him for good this time. Clark was glad that she’d recovered, but now he had to face a new reality. Lana wasn’t coming back.

Lois had hurriedly tossed her things into Clark’s room, returning downstairs with Chloe’s discs just in time to view Lana’s goodbye video. Her heart ached along with him. She’d known how much he’d loved her. She ran to a tearful Clark, hugging him for a long time. (Smv 7.20“Arctic”)

This was not the way Lois had wanted to win Clark’s attentions. She’d preferred a type of competition with Lana, illustrating why she’d be a better match for him in the end.

I warned him that first day that Lana was way too much for him to handle, yet at least he tried. That said a lot, Lois considered as she finally let go of Clark. “I’m so sorry.” Was all she could say, it wasn’t enough.

Next up: ch.2 Weapon X

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions 2

Chapter 2.0

From: Moving On

Weapon X

Lois wiped the tears from her eyes. That reminded me a lot of the speech Oliver gave to me last year, she mused. I don’t really want to be someone’s bounce back romance, yet neither of us have any viable options. It was too early for that now, she reminded herself.

Clark removed the DVD from Lana and tossed in unceremoniously into the desk drawer. He felt that Lana had deserted him. He was glad that she was back among the living though that didn’t ease the hurtful stinging any. Clark wouldn’t be angry with her for long. It wasn’t in his nature.

“Let’s see the discs from Chloe.” Clark directed, unable to keep the menacing tone from his voice. Lois handed him the DVD’s and he popped the first one into her laptop. “I know this isn’t the time Clark, but we need to get prepared. It’s hitting the fan!” She commented.

Clark reviewed the message and then they headed to the barn to recover the encryption codes. He’d hidden the bright red pickup inside the barn, assuming that it would keep any prying eyes at bay a little bit longer. They sat in Clark’s loft together, as he planned to decipher the encryption.

“Where is Chloe, anyway?” Clark asked, not really expecting an answer. Lois shrugged. “Either she’s in deep cover with my ex, or the Feds have her, namely the Department of Homeland Security. She mentioned that they’d sent Jimmy back with a wire.”

Clark sighed with disgust. “We’ve really done it this time!” Lois was growing frustrated. “What? What are you guys into?” She grilled. “You’re better off not knowing, Lois.” He backpedaled. “It’s too late for that now, Smallville. Spill it!” She challenged.

“Wait a minute!” He dodged. “Chloe said that she sent eight discs out?” Lois nodded. “You’ve got mail!” She joked, as Clark’s pattern of thought dawned on her.

He quickly went to the mailbox, and sure enough, there was a simple brown envelope in it. The return address was from ‘Fagin Lynch’. Clark showed it to Lois as he opened it. There were the two unmarked DVDs.

"Fagin Lynch?” Lois echoed. “Does that mean anything to you, Clark?” He shook his head. “Nope.” Lois walked to the edge of the loft and glanced out the glassless window. She appeared to be deep in thought. “Got it!” She snapped her fingers.

“Fagin Lynch was a sea captain in the seventeenth century. I told Chloe the tale of a legendary schooner commander that found a dangerous weapon.” Clark didn’t like where Lois was going. “Captain Fagin is supposed to be an old wives tale that I heard at The Salty Dawg, a dive tavern near the Metropolis waterfront!”

“Do you think she’s hiding out down there with the lowlife?” Clark asked hopefully. “Well, it’s a good place to get lost if you don’t want to be found.” She added. “It sounds too simple. Let’s check all four DVDs first.” Clark accessed Lois’s discs and decrypted them.

It was a simple access code of numbers. Lois’s birth date, Chloe’s birth date, and Lois’s mother’s birth date. She’d died when Lois was a little girl. Clark wondered if Lois was right. It seemed too simple. “Lois, what’s the rest of the story about Captain Fagin?”

“Uh, Captain Fagin had supposedly been sailing in the Atlantic Ocean near South America, when he and the crew ran across a powerful weapon.” Lois closed her eyes, trying to recall the wives tale that the Navy boys at the base had told her.

“The weapon allegedly was small enough to hold. Captain Fagin stated that it resembled a walking cane with an unusual decorative head. He had turned the stick’s body and it created a loud noise that deafened the crew. After a short time, their hearing returned.”

“A type of sonic weapon?” Clark guessed. “Captain Fagin pointed the stick at the water before them and it rose up suddenly, nearly sinking his ship, The Finchley. One of his crew supposedly pointed it at a nearby land mass and it caused an earthquake.” Lois continued.

“It’s just a legend, right Clark?” He rubbed his square jaw. “I wonder…” Could it have been a Kryptonian weapon? Clark knew he was reaching. Why would Chloe choose that example? “Is that all to the story, Lois?” He pressed.

“Hold on! I hate tests! You know how great a student I am!” Lois joked. “Relax, Lois and think. It may be important.”“Captain Fagin was so frightened by the awesome power of the stick, that he and his crew physically took it apart. He separated it into four pieces and hid them at the four corners of the world. The captain and his crew sailed as far as they could go with their limited resources.”

A weapon that no one should use? That could refer to me! Clark thought with discouragement. Lois continued. “Captain Fagin allegedly swore his crew to silence under penalty of death. Not one ever broke his oath until the last surviving crew member, the youngest, Johnny O’Herlihey revealed the story to his children on his death bed.” Lois finished.

“It’s a great story, but how is it relevant?” Clark still hadn’t put it all together. “I don’t know. For now, let’s just stick to the discs.” Chloe’s face came up on the first disc. She looked upset, but uninjured. “Clark, Lois, I really stepped in it this time!” She confessed.

“I broke into the National Security Agency database using Lana’s high tech toys at the Isis Foundation. The Feds busted me. I only had time enough to create the DVDs. Two Feds came by and tried to put Jimmy and I into their ‘Permanent Witness Protection Program.’

If I don’t spend my life in prison, they’ll certainly erase my existence at the very least. Jimmy and I wanted to play both sides, you know, hedge our bets.” Chloe stressed that phrase. “The Feds were holding all the cards, but they were after a bigger fish.” She stressed the last two words.

“Jimmy agreed to ‘rat me out’ and wear a wire as a plea bargain. They hadn’t enough proof to send both of us up the river.” Again Chloe stressed that phrase, Clark noted. “I had Jimmy mail the discs at a remote location. I don’t think that you two can help me now. Our only hope is to contact someone who can pull strings.”

“The biggest river leads to my favorite airline.” Chloe added. “Huh?” Lois asked. “Another clue!” Clark mentioned excitedly. “The biggest river is the Mississippi. An airline…Delta!” Lois was slowly catching on. “Okay Mississippi, Delta…” Clark wrote that down.

“The royal flush was missing a queen.” Chloe smirked on the video, clearly enjoying her mysterious message. “Missing a queen?” Lois and Clark glanced at each other. “Oliver Queen!” Clark shook his head. “The Feds missed catching Oliver?” He said hopefully.

“Probably.” Lois agreed. “That leaves us with the Ace of Clubs.” Chloe flipped the card at the video camera. “Ace of clubs?” Clark repeated. “Duh, Clark!” Lois smiled. “The Ace of Clubs is one of the hottest upper crust clubs in Metropolis.” She informed him. “We’re talking eight dollar Cosmos, and five dollar domestic beer. Even the Metropolis elite hang out at The Ace when they feel like slumming.” Clark nodded.

“You know Smallville, you need to get off the farm more.” Lois threw in the playful barb. “Chloe wants us to meet Oliver at the Ace of Clubs to make some kind of a plan.” She guessed.“Okay, I’ll buy that, but when? What does that have to do with Mississippi?” Clark pondered. Lois was trying hard to remember some detail.

“Got it! The Mississippi Delta Queen Tour boat! It leaves Metropolis Bay twice a day for rides. That would be 4 pm and 7 pm.”Clark hugged Lois, thrilling her. “That’s brilliant! The problem is what day and which ride?” He gave it some further thought. “What do these things have in common? Mississippi River Queen, Ace of Clubs, royal flush, holding all the cards, hedge our bets…gambling!” He speculated.

“A bigger fish? That could be a shark! A casino! Possibly a water based casino, where you can place bets on the Metropolis Sharks!” Clark said as Lois grinned. “You know, you’re not half bad at this, Smallville. None of that gives us a definite time.”

Lois sighed. “Hold on! The 7 pm boat cruise passes a casino, the Golden Hawk! It’s maybe twenty minutes…down river!” Clark started up Chloe’s DVD again. He deciphered the next level of encryption. The young journalist’s face came up again. “As I stated earlier, we need someone with real power.” Chloe began.

“I sent two sets of discs to Clark and Oliver. Each set has different information. Oliver’s has all of the data I mined from the government on Lex, and any supposedly secret projects that were going on.”

“The NSA was hooked into my database, and found out that I was playing ‘big sister’. They sent some suits to put me under surveillance. I happened to see them lurking around the Talon. Luckily, they stood out like sore thumbs.” Clark glanced at Lois.

“Our friends?” She nodded.“While I was in the Fed database I accidentally got hooked into my new friend’s files.” Chloe continued. “Marcus Worthington, of the international corporation, WorthingtonCo was surprised that I hacked into his security system.” Clark and Lois exchanged glances. “Who?” They chorused.

“Instead of blowing the whistle on me to the Feds, Marcus offered me a job at his Arizona Ranch.” Chloe added. “I didn’t have time to reply by e mail before the Feds pounced on me. I sent Marcus two discs of background information on some of our…more unusual Smallville residents. I traded information for his silence.”

“Terrific!” Clark grumbled. “Hey relax Clark, Chlo’ knew what she was doing.” Lois defended. “I’ll try and get my dad, the General, to put some pressure on the NSA HQ. Maybe your mom can pull some strings from her end at the Senate.” She suggested.

“No.” Clark stated, startling Lois. “I’m going right to the heart of the matter.” Lois’s eyes widened. “What? You can’t just waltz into the NSA HQ or DHS for that matter, and yank Chloe out!” Lois protested. That’s exactly what I intend to do, Clark thought angrily.

To Lois he said; “I’m going right to Oliver. He dragged Chloe into this mess. She’s stuck her neck out for me a number of times. It’s time that I pay her back!” Lois gulped. She’d never heard Clark make a statement with such conviction before.

Her head was filled with mixed feelings. She didn’t want to lose Clark before she’d had a legitimate chance with him. He was also headstrong at this point and likely wouldn’t listen to reason, especially after the ‘Dear John’ video from Lana, Lois guessed.

"We still don't have the exact day that Ollie would hook up with us." Lois pointed out. "The next half of the clue was probably on my discs." Clark offered, trying to follow Chloe's logic.

He deciphered the dvd encryption. It was fairly simple. Chloe had chosen three names that only he would know, Jor El, Zor El, and Lara. Clark stopped short of the final encryption link, which was a date: The day that they first found Kara.

"That's it!" Clark said, startling Lois. They'd found Kara on a Friday. "What's it?" Lois asked. "Tomorrow at 7 pm on the Mississippi Queen we meet up with Oliver, assuming he's still available." Clark informed her. "Maybe i'll leave that to you, Smallville."Lois added. "I don't need to dig up old skeletons from my closet." Clark nodded.

That makes things simpler, he thought with relief. "I'll keep you posted Lois, but I admit that i may not be able to do this alone." Lois felt a tug at her heart. Clark was asking for her help, she mused. "I'll be working the angle from here. Plus, i'm grilling Jimmy for more information at the Planet." Clark agreed, adding: "Remember, Jimmy's wearing a wire." Lois nodded.

"Exactly, i'm sending the Feds fishing...fishing in Northern Canada with a trail of false clues." Lois stated proudly. Clark laughed. He and Lois were truly a good team. "I have to go to work tomorrow and keep up appearances." Lois stated.

"What if the Feds or the thugs attack you?"Clark asked worriedly, "I'll drop you off and pick you up." He offered. Lois's first reflex was to decline, but she reconsidered. That would be nice, she smiled. "Okay Smallville, but remember, I have to be at the Planet by 9 am."

next up: Confrontation - ch 3

----- Added 58 Minutes later -----

Trying to get all the chapters in one place;

Chapter 3.0
Confrontation
The next day:

"Morning boss." Lois said pleasantly. Lex Luthor grunted as he passed her desk. As soon as he was in his office at the Daily Planet, just off the Main Newsroom, Lois picked up a group of manilla folders and walked right in, closing the door behind her.

"You know Lane, it’s common courtesy to knock before you enter an office." She stood directly in front of Lex, placing herself between the billionaire and the view from the rest of the newsroom. "What can I say? I tend to be discourteous when my life is being threatened."

"I’m sure that I don’t know what you mean." Lex grinned as he moved his left hand slightly towards a desk drawer. "Uh uh! Put your hands where I can see them!" Lois ordered as she pointed a small caliber revolver at him from beneath the pile of folders. "Let’s leave that shiny silver Glock right inside your desk drawer. We wouldn’t want to get it dirty." Lex folded his hands in front of him.

"I can have you fired for this, Lane." He stated calmly. "Maybe yes, maybe no." Lois clicked the gun. Of course it had no bullets in it, but Lex didn’t know that. "We’re just having a meeting." She snickered. "Oh? About what?" Lex prodded. "Call off the goons that you have trailing me, Chloe, and Clark." She beckoned with the gun. "What goons? You have no proof." He said smugly.

"Oh, but I do." Lois grinned evilly. "It seems that two of your employees confessed to the Feds that you hired them to watch me. Let’s see, illegal wiretaps, invasion of privacy, and physical harassment." Lex wouldn’t be swayed. "They could be disgruntled employees, sour grapes."

"Illegal surveillance is a minor thing, compared to say, manslaughter." Lois pointed out. "Again, you have no proof." Lex smiled arrogantly. "You’re right, I don’t." Lois added, "Yet, someone I know does. Perhaps a duplicate DVD video of Lionel Luthor taking a swan dive. Oh, I’m sorry. He was pushed, wasn’t he? I find it hard to believe that a man like your father would take his own life."

"You’re playing a dangerous game, Lane. You’re out of your league." Lex menaced. "Oh no Lex, I haven’t even begun to play the game yet." Lois said, narrowing her eyes. "Just for giggles, what is it that you want? A salary increase?" Lex taunted. "Sure. That’ll do for starters." Lois sighed.

"I want you to stop your minions from harassing us. That includes Jimmy. We discussed your little deal." Lois hinted. "You still don’t have any leverage, Lane." Lex defended haughtily. "Actually, I do. I know a couple of people in Auditing, Financial Services...and um...oh yeah, The Board of Directors for the Planet." She knew that last part was complete bull. Lois only really knew Jimmy and Chloe.

"I should care because...?" Lex baited. "I suppose you could have my constituents fired, Lex." Lois began. "That is, if you knew who they were. You could certainly fire the whole staff, however the Board of Directors might start asking embarrassing questions."

"You’re bluffing." Lex smiled thinly. "No, I never bluff." Lois countered, adding: "by the way, Lana has made a complete and full recovery. All of her mental faculties are back to normal. I know that she still has a number of interesting stories about you. Lana’s very smart. In fact she’s smarter than you, Lex." Lois threw in the dig. "In court, under oath, she could likely give me stories for a month."

Now Lex frowned. She’d finally hit a nerve. "Lane, you forget that I can find your family easily enough." His voice lowered. "Are you threatening me, Lex?" Lois goaded. "That sounds like nice grounds for a lawsuit to me. You might want to rephrase that."

"Besides, Sam Lane works for the U.S. Government. Even you don’t have that kind of pull. If something happened to Lucy...let’s just say that the General would have you put away for a long time, if not engineer your early retirement." Lois’s tone was deadly. She had surprised herself with the level of bravado she attacked Lex with. "Checkmate!" She spat.

"You can always replace the Board of Directors. That would take time...time that you don’t have, Lex." He stared daggers at her. "It wouldn’t take that long." Lex boasted. "Oh, I forgot to mention that I taped our entire conversation just now." Lois smiled brightly.

"You’d say anything with a gun pointed at your head too, Lane" Lex said extra loudly. "Gun? What gun? This is a cigarette lighter." Lois said innocently. "Would you like to call the Board of Directors, or should I?" She gestured to him with her phone.
"I think the meeting went swimmingly, don’t you?" Lois taunted.

"Let’s recap, shall we? You threatened me, threatened my family, offered me an increase in salary, threatened the Board of Directors with removal, and we can add; harassment of fellow employees, and attempted extortion of Jimmy.

"How about questionable business dealings, unwarranted termination of my cousin, Chloe, threatening a government employee, possible misappropriation of company funds, and possessing a weapon on company property. Did we cover all the bases?" Lois jabbed.

"What is it that you want again, Miss Lane?" Lex asked contritely. Lois flipped off the recorder. "I suppose you’re wondering where your security team is, whom you called by pressing your foot on that black button on the floor beneath your desk."

"The thought had crossed my mind." Lex commented sarcastically. "Apparently someone named Perry White decided to downsize them." Lois said casually.

"You know that the publishing industry is in trouble, Lex. Cost cutting is in. The rest of your security force is under investigation by Metropolis’s Finest." Lois steadied her aim with the gun. "I see." Lex smirked. "Well played, Miss Lane."

Lex’s desk phone rang. "I won’t soon forget our pleasant conversation." He remarked. "You’d better pick that up, Lex. After all, it could be the Board of Directors, calling you to talk, and maybe take in a meeting. I know that you’re very busy Mr. Luthor." Lois’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

She backed out of the office with the gun still trained on Lex. "Have a good day." She smirked as she shut the office door, careful to hide her gun beneath the folders. Lois breathed a sigh of relief.

Now to find Jimmy and get the Feds off our backs, she thought as she spotted an older distinguished gentleman approaching her cubicle. She quickly dumped the gun and folders into her desk drawer.

"Lois Lane?" His voice was deep with a slight southern drawl. "Yes?"She gulped. Lois popped her head up above the wall of the cubicle. "Uh...Lois? Perry White." He shook her hand. "Damn pleased to meet you! Ah...Can we go someplace and talk, like a conference room?"

"Sure." Lois agreed warily, remembering to take her little recorder and a Steno pad with, just in case. No one knew at the time that history was in the making. Lois followed Perry out into the hallway.

All this time Clark had been considering taking up Lois’s offer to join the Planet staff. He’d reassured himself that he’d be ‘in the middle of the action’ covering stories for the paper. The only question was, could he maintain his secret identity and at the same time, in theory at least, be in the public’s eye? That question was yet to be answered.

Clark walked alone, along the periphery of the Kent Farm. He’d made a decision, perhaps the biggest yet, short of the usual life and death decisions he’d made. He would basically give up his farm life, and as Oliver put it: stop sitting on the couch while a world of trouble spins outside his door. He’d come to realize that he was through living in the past.

Lana was gone. Clark admitted. She’d made it plain to him that she didn’t want to see him anymore. How will I work with Lois? He silently wandered back towards the barn loft. He suddenly reached the edge of the horse corral. How could I not have Lois in my life?

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions ch 4

By Line 4.0
Beyond Smallville: By Line (Rated PG-13) Themes
From "Evolution": 3.0

“Lane! Get in here!” Perry White bellowed. “You too, Kent!” He added at a slightly lower volume. Clark Kent appreciated the minimal break his super sensitive hearing got every once in a while. “How come I seem to be linked to you Lois, especially when you’re in trouble?”

Young Lois Lane smiled crookedly as she pinched Clark’s cheek. “That’s what friends are for, Clarkie.” She teased. Clark still wasn’t over Lana Lang, his high school sweetheart, but his adventures with Lois seemed to help ease the pain.

“Yeah Chief?” Lois asked warily as she led Clark into the stuffy corner office of the Metropolis Daily Planet’s Assistant Chief Editor. “What’s this?” Perry barked, as he held up a copy of the Daily Planet’s morning final.

“Uh…our front page from this morning?” Lois asked flatly, devoid of emotion. “Exactly!” Perry waved it in their faces. “Flying Menace Terrorizes City?” The elder white haired seasoned journalist read the headline. “Sixteen passengers slightly injured on large commercial jet, none seriously.”

Clark reddened as Perry read the sub headline. “What’s wrong with it, boss?” Lois asked impatiently. “Nothing.” Perry’s furry white brows knitted. “Except that everyone else knows the same thing!” He complained loudly.

“That’s all the info we have.” Lois defended tiredly. The newbie journalist had been on the phone half the night reassuring her cousin, Chloe Sullivan, who’d been in to see her mother, Lois’s aunt, at the mental hospital.

“I still don’t know how, with all of the camcorders, video phones, and digital cameras in this city why only one person managed to see this…this flying whatever it was up close.” Lois added with disgust.

“One person! Who?” Perry nearly flew across his desk at them. “Get me the interview, Lane, or you’ll be back downstairs on midnights in the Obits and Wedding Announcements department again!” Perry threatened.

Clark cleared his throat. “Uh…that would be me, Chief.” “Kent?” Perry White was incredulous. “How in all the universe did you manage to grab a digi-cam image of this flying ball?” Clark shrugged. “Yeah, I’d like to know too.” Lois whined.

“Just lucky I guess.” Actually Clark had followed the mysterious round object for a few miles before it abruptly disappeared in a blinding white flash of light.
Clark had been practicing some flying maneuvers that he’d been experimenting with over Dead Man’s Gorge, when he spied the bluish green basketball sized object. The glowing ball had come up behind him.

Clark had been caught in the act! If he didn’t keep his concentration, the 22 year old would likely have fallen to the ground. The fall wouldn’t kill him of course as far as he knew, but it was an experience he wouldn’t care to repeat, after several unsuccessful attempts at using his new ability.

The ball had been able to pace him in flight, and managed to stay ahead of him, even at hyper speed. That alone automatically backed his theory that the object wasn’t man made.

Only recently, NASA had developed an unmanned high-speed probe that could travel at around 100 times the speed of a common jet airliner. It had been launched a few years ago and traveled out to the distant reaches of the solar system.

Its mission was to explore, map, and send pictures of tiny Pluto and its moons. After which, it would proceed inside the Kuiper Belt, a ring of debris widely assumed to be filled with thousands of comets and asteroids.

The commercial airliner was another story. Clark grimaced. Maybe the object was in fact an advanced NASA probe, Clark speculated, as my luck would have it, probably not.

Likely it was big trouble, though he doubted that his biological father, Jor El had anything to do with it. If the long dead essence wanted to know something, he’d probably just ask Clark.

The young superhero still didn’t understand how the image array up at the ice fortress operated, only that it was somehow interactive.

“Kent? Hello?” Perry’s gruff voice interrupted his thoughts. “Yeah Chief?” Clark reluctantly asked. Lois shook her head. Perry sighed. “Alertness, Kent! Alertness is one of the major qualities of a good reporter."

"Get yourself a dose of caffeine. You and Lois are going on a little investigative trip.” Lois looked at Perry. “But Chief…”

“Butts are for Billy goats Lane.” Perry challenged. “I was gonna say, Clark was supposed to run with the remainder of the airline passengers’ story…” Lois began.

“It’s already done.” Clark boasted as Lois stomped on his foot. Naturally, he didn’t notice. “Oh yeah. Done, huh Kent?” Perry was clearly impressed.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about Lane. Hustle! Hustle! Hustle! You were the first on the scene when the plane landed, weren’t you Kent?” Clark nodded. “Great job!"
"What’s that yuppie phrase the brass’re always beating into our heads at meetings? Oh yeah. Being proactive.” Perry praised as Lois fumed. “Kent, I’m gonna recommend to the big wigs that you and Lane be hired as full time cub reporters."

"How’d you like that?” Lois’s eyes sparkled. “Sounds good to me Chief.” She gushed. Clark was more hesitant. “Thanks, Mr. White, can I get back to you? There’s the farm and all that.”

Lois glanced at Clark like he’d grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. “Sure Kent, I understand.” Perry sounded disheartened. “I won’t be in front of the top dogs until next Tuesday, let me know by then."

"Clark, I think you and Lois would be a great team. It’s a good opportunity for you both. Kent, I want that follow up article on my desk after lunch!”

“You’ll have it.” Clark assured him. “In about an hour I want you two back in my office. This next assignment is big!” Perry added as he went back to reading the front-page story.

Clark followed Lois back to her desk, where he’d left the follow up article. The two really hadn’t spoken a word since leaving Perry’s office. “You know how much I hate awkward silences Clark.” Lois complained. “So you keep telling me.” He retorted.

“Can I see the article?” Lois asked calmly. “Sure.” Clark handed it over to her. She read through it fairly quickly. “I don’t believe it!” Lois exclaimed as Clark shuddered. “Can’t believe what?” She looked up at him approvingly.

“I can’t believe that you didn’t misspell a single word!” Lois’s voice rose slightly. Clark breathed a sigh of relief. The young journalist had been growing ever closer to discovering Clark’s secret of late.

“Isn’t there anything that you screw up?” Clark wanted to tell her the truth. He had in fact screwed up. Big time. He had been chasing the speeding glowing ball for a few minutes before it disappeared. Somehow Clark hadn’t heard the Land/Sea/Air Boeing 7E7 jet come up behind him.

As Clark began to turn back toward Smallville, he’d flown straight into the commercial passenger airliner’s right wing, shearing part of the engine’s protective plate off in the process.

The pilots’ emergency lights blinked on and began beeping telling them that there was a fire in one engine. Clark had immediately blown out the fire with some super breath.

However, the indicator lamps forced the pilots to make an emergency landing at Metropolis International. As the plane slid to a stop, some of the passengers were shaken up.

Clark was certain that a few of the passengers milked their injuries, hoping to file a lawsuit at a later date. The fact was that he’d been careless, and very lucky.
Since losing his father, then Lana, and for all practical purposes, Chloe, Clark’s concentration had been off just when he’d needed it most. Great move, Clark. He remembered thinking.

“Oh you’d be surprised how I can mess things up.” He countered Lois’s rhetorical question. Lois put the article down and sat on one corner of her desk, crossing her long shapely legs. Clark tried unsuccessfully to ignore them.

There’s no doubt that Lois was an attractive young woman, though to him, annoying at times. “Clark? What do you think that you’ll decide about Perry’s offer?”

Lois was one for getting straight to the point. It was a quality that Clark most admired about her. She didn’t mince words or play games. Uncomplicated, that’s it.

“I’d like to go full time, sure. I don’t think that I can juggle taking care of my mom, running the farm, and being on the go all the time.” Clark lied.

Of course he could do all that plus more, however he still had to keep up appearances for Lois. Clark’s secret identity had already cost the lives of his father and Alicia Baker, and had nearly cost Pete, Lana and Chloe their lives as well on a number of occasions.

Suddenly Lois’s eyes began to tear. She looked away in a vain attempt to hide her feelings from Clark. “Damn!” Lois cursed vehemently. “What’s wrong Lois?” Clark was caught off guard by the sudden burst of emotion from his long time friend. It unnerved him.

Lois took a breath. “It’s just that things … things just suck! I feel I have to somehow make up for the things that Chloe’s going through. I was on the phone with her half the night. She kept going on…” Lois choked on the next words as she warily looked around.

“Kept going on about what?” Clark felt a high sense of dread. “Kept going on about you! Tell Clark I need his help. The aliens are attacking! She said. After what’s happened to her, I feel I owe her. It’s like I have to complete the dream she started. You know, being a top notch reporter.”

Clark felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. “Look Lois, what happened to Chloe is nobody’s fault.” He began, except probably mine he mentally berated himself. “Maybe the doctors just need to change her medication."

"Maybe she’s getting the care she needs to at the mental health facility. Maybe the doctors can eventually help her. We can hope.”

Lois had let down her guard for a moment. It was a rare occurrence to be sure. She prided herself on her strength of character. Lois pulled Clark close to her.

The stress was getting to her and there was nothing Clark could do about it. “I hate it when I get all wimpy like this!” She sniffled into his nice gray suit jacket.

Lois made a painful point. It was actually his fault that Chloe was in this predicament, even though the team of psychiatrists blamed her condition on Chloe’s mother’s hereditary mental illness. Bad genes, they’d said.

Clark still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced of that. “I promise that I’ll look into Chloe’s condition as soon as possible.” He said quietly into Lois’s ear.

The scent of her hair invaded his nostrils. It was a particularly good smelling tropical shampoo. He tried to focus his thoughts, but they suddenly clouded over. “Thanks.” Lois said tearfully, as he continued to hold her in his arms.

Something gnawed at the back of his highly advanced mind. Chloe’s psychosis…it couldn’t be hereditary…it was stress related. He’d read that in a psychology text book somewhere. Clark was starting to see a dark mental picture.

He bet that he’d find at least one of the team of psychiatrists with ties to LuthorCorp or the Feds. There was probably nothing wrong with Chloe. They could have given her any number of hallucinogens and sedatives.

It all makes perfect sense, Clark thought, the Feds wanted Chloe out of the way, and killing her, or dumping her in a faux witness relocation program was not the optimal solution.

Lois finally stopped crying and gently pushed away from Clark. “I’m going out west to visit Chloe and have a word with her doctors!” He stated emphatically. “I appreciate that, Clark."

"Oh! Perry wanted both of us to take this new assignment.” Lois remembered reluctantly. “True. Maybe we better take care of that first. It’ll give me some time to do research.”

“Research? On what?” Lois’s mood suddenly lightened. “I don’t want to get your hope’s up, but I’m not convinced that Chloe’s mental issues are genetic.” Clark began. “What about her outburst involving the attacking aliens?” Lois queried.

“Unfortunately, that sounds like a symptom of a classic paranoid delusional condition. It could be a manifestation of all the freaks we encountered in Smallville, or something she saw on TV. Either way it can be caused by any number of mind altering drugs, not that I’m an expert or anything.” Clark quickly qualified.

He had knowledge on some level involving mind altering drugs administered to Lex by either his late father Lionel, or Helen Brice. It caused Lex to be institutionalized for a time.

Add to that his problems with red, black, and silver kryptonite, which reacted similarly, and he had more than his share of experiences to draw upon. “Where did you get that information?”


Lois’s curiosity surfaced. “I … uh… had too much time on my hands at some point, and read a lot of books.” Clark flushed. It was mostly true. “How about you Lois? Did you read a lot of books growing up?” Lois shrugged.

“Not really, unless you count Cosmo or any number of military handbooks, and propaganda fluff pieces my father had. What can I say Smallville? I was never a good student.” Clark smirked. I bet you could teach me a thing or two.

“What?” Lois glanced up at him. “Why are you grinning like Alice’s Cheshire cat?” She folded her thin arms. “No reason.” Clark deflected. “See? You are familiar with some literary forms."

“Yeah. My mother used to read me all the popular fairy tales from around the world.” Lois felt her eyes well up with tears. “I was supposed to be her little princess. Geez!"

"Here come the waterfalls again.” She sniffed. “Someone punch my ticket, and let me off of this emotional roller coaster that I’ve been on!" Lois exclaimed.

“Come on Smallville! Let’s get some lattes.” Lois urged as she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her neatly tailored blue suit jacket. “Remember, Perry only gave us an hour!”

She half dragged Clark to the elevator, which led to the first floor lobby of the Planet. The elevator doors hissed shut behind them. “I don’t see you as the fairy princess type, Lois.” Clark needled.

“Oh? How do you see me?” Lois challenged. “Certainly not the damsel in distress!” Clark grinned broadly. “No, as more of the dragon slaying warrior queen type.” He quipped.

“Yeah? Well you are not my prince charming!” Lois jabbed him in the ribs as Clark snickered and the elevator doors opened. They bolted across the busy Metropolis street toward 'Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe.'

Lois led the way again, not waiting for Clark to open the door for her. “It’s not nearly as good as the Talon’s creations, but it will do in a pinch.” Lois commented. While they waited in line, Lois tapped her foot impatiently.

She is really intense at times, Clark thought as he peered over her slim shoulder at the coffee cake selection placed atop the counter. He ran over some stray possibilities in his mind:

If Chloe’s affliction wasn’t hereditary and was caused by some man made combination of drugs the problem was twofold: How could he be sure he was right and what type of drug interaction could be created to ‘sober’ Chloe up? The second part of the equation is how? And why?

Lex, and by extension, LuthorCorp’s experiments immediately came to mind. Chloe had steered clear of Lex since the two had argued over Lois’s first article, slamming LuthorCorp’s environmental record.
It didn’t seem to be worth putting Chloe’s life in danger for. Lex had threatened to sue the Daily Planet if the article were to be published.

The Planet’s power brokers suddenly grew conservative, and in the end the article had gotten into the paper as a watered down version of Lois’s original.

The legal wrangling had cost former editor, Pauline Kahn her job. She’d resigned, accepting a position at the Central City Tribune instead. Neither Lois nor Chloe had lost their jobs over the debacle.

Perry White had delivered an impassioned speech to the Board of Directors citing freedom of speech issues, and the fact that the Daily Planet had backed down. Perry made no secret of the fact that he disliked, actually hated Lionel Luthor and by association, Lex.

Perry’s maneuver had impressed the CEO, and he promoted the experienced journalist to assistant editor. Though Clark enjoyed seeing Lex pissed off, it didn’t seem to be enough of a problem for him to attack Chloe. Something still wasn’t right. There was only one way to find out.

“Here!” Lois thrust a fresh steaming latte into Clark’s hand. “I would have paid!” Clark protested. “Next time Smallville.” Lois finally smiled brightly and Clark instantly relaxed. He was starting to be himself around her, at least his human-like self.

The disaster with Lana had taught him many things. One was to appreciate your friends or lovers while you can, because one day they could be gone. Lois led the way toward the front of the coffee shop.

This time Clark made it a point to open the door for her, using a fraction of his super speed. Though she didn’t admit it, Lois’s eyes told him that she appreciated the gesture.

Promptly on the hour, Clark and Lois wandered into Perry White’s office. “Sit down.” Perry ordered, looking up over his bifocals. Clark yanked a chair out for Lois to sit on, scraping the hardwood floor in his haste. Clark reddened at the sound of the high-pitched squealing.

“First off, Kent.” Perry’s tone of voice was low and steady. “Your report on interviewing the witnesses on the plane, ground, and airport personnel is fine. Nothing showy. No embellishment. You could punch it up a bit. Let me see more detail.” Clark took Perry’s criticisms to heart, nodding.

“There’s one story that you missed.” Clark’s eyes widened and Lois shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Lane picked up on it though.”

“Lois snagged an interview with a bystander, who swears he saw a black, cigar shaped object immediately in front of the airliner. Most likely he thought it was some kind of a UFO.”

Lois looked at her feet. “Probably just some kid on crack or something. That’s not the point, however. I want to see more attention to detail from you both."

" Lane, as of this minute, you’re giving Kent a shared byline. Starting with this next story, you two are a team. Kent gives us the good follow up. Lane, I haven’t found many faults in your stories. Aside from your spelling.”

“Everybody on the same page here?” Perry asked sternly. “Thanks Chief.” Clark and Lois chorused, exchanging puzzled glances and nodding. “Now, I know that you’re not one hundred percent committed to us Kent. We’d love to have you on board."

"You’re both under qualified for these jobs, but school documents don’t really impress me, action does. You two bring intangibles, that some of the other applicants didn’t have.”

In other words, we’re the best cheap help you could hire, Lois thought sourly. “How much am I paying you Lane?” Perry seemed to read her mind. “Uh…about $12.50 an hour Chief.” Lois answered quickly.

Which is roughly twice what I was being paid at The Talon, not counting tips of course. “That much, huh? Kent, will you come on board for this story at $11.00 an hour?” Perry put Clark on the spot. He hadn’t considered the money. “Sure Chief. Thanks.”

“Great. Negotiations are over. Here’s the skinny on the story:” Perry settled back into his squeaky old chair. “I’ve been dogging this guy for a story for months. Finally, I got him to schedule us an interview this Friday."

"Your subject is Marcus Worthington.” Perry paused for dramatic effect. Lois and Clark stared at him blankly. “You do know who he is?”

Um…yeah. Mr. Worthington is one of the twenty wealthiest men in America, and ranks up there in the international community as well.” Clark parroted a brief article he’d read in GQ.

Lois reddened. She’d had no idea who this Worthington is. Why hadn’t her father, Sam Lane ever mentioned him? “Good job, Kent. Except that Worthington is more like top ten in America. Anyway I’ve hooked you two up for the interview at his Northern Arizona ranch. This guy is a real mover and shaker."

"Doesn’t care for the media too much unless it serves his purposes. If you two could bring me an exclusive story, it will go a long way toward furthering your careers, and be great for the paper. If you two somehow blow it…don’t bother coming in on Monday, got it? Kent? Can you handle it?”

“I … uh yes, of course I could.” Lois piped up. “I?” Clark glared at Lois. “There’s no I in team, Lane. Remember that. Will you commit to this Kent?” Perry questioned as Clark flushed.

It didn’t sound too hard. Just what he needed, another confrontation with a wealthy young billionaire. “Sure Chief. I’m in.” Perry actually smiled, which according to Chloe was a rare occurrence indeed. “Now that’s what I want to hear Kent.”

“The two of you are booked into the Seven Palms Resort, just outside of Lake Havasu City. Worthington’s ranch is about fifty miles north-northwest of Kingman, as the crow flies, or in this case, the buzzards. It’s about a five-hour drive."

"Worthington said he’d send a limo to pick you up. First class all the way. We’re giving Lane an expense account. She’s the full timer. Lois, just write up Kent’s expenses on the report under your account.”

The young journalists gawked at him. “What’s wrong with you two? Something green under my nose?” Perry joked.

“Worthington’s ranch is near Vegas too. No, you may not go there at the company’s expense. If you do get up there one day, make sure you check out the Elvis museum though. I know it’s a big assignment, but you’re in the majors, now kids. I hear that Worthington is pretty approachable. It won’t be too bad.”

Lois finally got over her initial shock. “Thanks Chief. We appreciate the chance.” Perry was only slightly more convinced. “That’s better Lane. Let’s see some spirit. Compared to that bastard Lex, interviewing Worthington should be a cakewalk.”

Clark fidgeted. “Uh…about the sleeping arrangements…” He began as Lois rolled her eyes. “Don’t sweat it Kent. I trust you kids will be on your best behavior. Our budget isn’t all that big. You and Lois will share a room, double bed, if you insist."

"We need to have enough funds to clothe and feed you. We can’t pull out all the stops financially, even to impress an internationally known billionaire. Appearances count for everything, hence the clothing budget.”

Perry handed Lois a credit card as her eyes lit up. “This time I get dibs on the shower first, Smallville.” Lois teased as Clark scowled. “You two will have to work out the details.” Perry added grinning. “Lake Havasu is not cheap."

"It’s the closest big town to Worthington’s place. Kingman is nothing more than a dusty old glorified truck stop. I’ll send the itinerary to Lane’s apartment. You’ll get food, drinks, and tip expense allowance. Don’t be hitting the resort’s mini bar either!”

“Clark doesn’t drink.” Lois chimed in. “Good. Nasty habit. Hitting the sauce. Actually it’s partially thanks to Kent here that I kicked the whiskey monster out of my life.” Clark grinned.

“You didn’t do anything you didn’t want to, Mr. White.” He said sincerely. Lois cast him a puzzled glance. “Anyway you two are catching a cab to Metropolis International tomorrow at 8 AM sharp."

"Don’t be late. Worthington is expecting to hook up with you tomorrow night around 7 PM Pacific time.” Perry finished and checked his watch.

“What about flying Clark?” Lois asked. “Huh? What about it?” He asked nervously. “What about your fear of flying? Isn’t that what Chloe told me?” Lois pried. “I …uh…guess I got over that.” Clark answered.

“Don’t worry Smallville, I’ll let you hold my hand.” Lois taunted. Perry grinned appreciatively. He could see Clark and Lois’s rapport improving by the minute.

“You’ll be back here at Met International late on Sunday morning, hopefully with a great exclusive interview.” Perry was finally done. “Class dismissed. I’ve got a paper to run!”

Clark and Lois filed out of the office stopping briefly at Lois’s desk to check her e mails and voice mail. Clark started drifting toward the exit. “Freeze, Smallville.” She ordered after hanging up the phone. “Your day’s not done yet.”

Clark warily stood nearby. “First you and I are going shopping and then you’re taking me to dinner.” Clark gaped at his good friend. “Say what?” Lois grabbed her purse and suit jacket.

“Double time soldier. You are not going to accompany me to a fancy resort and a meeting with a young billionaire wearing your usual rags.” Lois directed as she led Clark out the swinging doors of the Planet’s editorial department.

“I have a suit, Lois.” Clark argued. “Listen, flannel king, the suit you bought from Arnie’s Roadside Emporium doesn’t count. You should know better than to buy anything from a place with a big plastic pig out front wearing an Elvis toupee.”

Clark choked back a laugh. “You saw that place, did you?” He joked, taking her shtick in stride. “Actually Lex bought me a suit a few years ago…I almost burned it.”

“Exactly my point. We’re a team now. I’m talking Armani here.” Lois explained as she pressed the elevator button. “I can’t afford an …” Clark began before Lois cut him off. “Hear me out Smallville.”

They entered the elevator. Lois held up Perry’s credit card. “This, my dear, is a P Card. Corporate purchasing at it’s finest. P stands for purchasing power. The Daily Planet gave me this.”

She held up a small piece of paper resembling a check. “Do ya see all those zeroes?” Clark’s eyes lit up. “This is a pay voucher. Part of the perks of being a full timer includes a clothing allowance."

"Therefore, I’m buying you an Armani suit and then we’re going to buy me a snappy new dress from Bloominghale’s, and all that shopping will make me hungry.”
“What if I don’t take the job at the Planet? Do I have to give it back?” Clark asked, immediately regretting his statement. Lois had silenced, and was visibly agitated as they left the elevator and spun through the revolving doors at the building’s entrance.

Still silent, Lois hailed a cab. Clark held the car door for her as Lois slid all the way to the other side of the back seat. “Armani’s Outlet Store on Fifth Avenue please.” She directed the cabbie.

“Clark! What is your problem?” Lois hissed. “What? This is about our assignment isn’t it? Do you want me to back out?” He asked.

A woman once again had confused Clark. “No! I don’t want you to back out! When are you going to quit living in the past? You have been offered an opportunity to make something of yourself, unless you really want to spend the rest of your life alone on the farm!”

Lois’s voice rose. Clark gulped. Lois had hurt his feelings, but was she really right? “It’s not that simple.” Clark defended weakly. “Life is never simple, Clark!” Lois snapped.

Lana had said nearly the same thing to him on more than one occasion. “Fine. I’ll try it!” Clark acquiesced.

“Good! That’s all I ask!” Lois calmed down slightly. “I know what you’re thinking.” Clark frowned. “I seriously doubt that.” He retorted icily. “You’re thinking that we’re about to take on a gravy assignment with perks and all, while Chloe is suffering."

"She would never back down! We’re going to do this for her! She would tell us to go for it! If they sent me into the street to interview freaks, weirdoes, murderers, and perverts, I’d still do it. It’s no different. Chloe saw potential in me. It’s time that you started to believe in me and yourself.”

“Listen Clark. Think of the suit as your uniform. You played football, right? This is just another form of a game. We’ll go out west, snag the interview, maybe have a few laughs along the way, and come home.” Lois reasoned as Clark opened the door to Armani’s Outlet for her.

“If you still don’t want to commit…” Lois choked on the word. “I’ll get off your back.” Clark couldn’t fault that way of looking at it. "Deal.” He forced a smile, which seemed to soften Lois’s mood.

Clark tried on several expensive suits, modeling them for Lois. At least two young ladies stopped by to check him out as well. Naturally Clark was oblivious to them.

Finally Clark settled on a nice charcoal gray pinstripe suit, and Lois was impressed. “You look almost handsome in that one. We’ll take it.” Lois handed the cashier the P Card. Clark looked around nervously. “Relax Smallville. It’s paid for, and I got it on sale.” Lois flashed a bright grin.

Next stop was Bloominghale’s. Lois tried on about a dozen fancy dresses and settled on two. She asked Clark’s opinion on which to choose. Clark gulped. Lois’s first number was an elegant black strapless dress, knee high cut, that hugged her figure.

Lois was indeed a very attractive woman. Clark had forgotten all about Lana for a few moments. Her second choice was a fire engine red short hemmed mini dress.

The sales lady had pulled Lois’s long brown hair up into a bun, leaving only two strands of hair dangling near her ears. Again Clark was speechless. How had he missed her?

He shook his head, lost in thought. It would never work. “What? You don’t like the red one?” Lois interrupted his thoughts. “Um…no, I mean yes. It’s great.” Clark flushed and faltered. Lois nearly giggled.

“You are no help at all, Smallville. I think we’ll take the black one. The red one isn’t really appropriate for our meetings.” The sales lady nodded and wrote up the purchase. “Oh my gosh! I need shoes for it!” Lois exclaimed.

Clark stifled a groan. “Ah! Here we go. Size Eight. Black pumps.” Lois grabbed a pair of shoes in a matter of seconds and tried them on. “We’ll take these as well.”

A few minutes later they were on their way to dinner. “Mission accomplished.” Lois smiled broadly, finally melting Clark’s heart. “That wasn’t so bad was it?” Lois smirked.

“No. No it wasn’t.” Clark agreed. “I’m sorry for being such a number one ***** today, Clark.” Lois apologized, freaking Clark out completely. “No. You weren’t that bad. I think you’re right. I have to stop living in the past.”

Lois held back some tears again. She played it off. “Geez, what’s my problem? Maybe I’m just hungry.”
“I’ll think about staying with the Planet Lois, I really will. I’d have to discuss it with my mom of course.” Clark said tiredly.
“That’s all I ask. Consider all the options.” She added.

Lois yawned and rested her head on Clark’s chest in the cab ride out to the restaurant. Clark felt something changing at that moment. Could Lois be the one? It seemed highly unlikely.

His new temporary partner could fill the void left in his heart by losing his dad, his friendship with Lex, his loss of Chloe’s support, and finally, losing Lana. That was a lot to ask of her, he knew. It wasn’t time for that yet. Clark had something to prove to himself first.

The cab screeched to a halt, waking Lois, and disrupting his train of thought. “What the hell?” Lois was really crabby. Clark made a mental note to be cautious when waking her in the future. The traffic had suddenly become grid locked.

Lois had already called ahead with her cell phone for dinner reservations at Chez Beaumond, a moderately priced restaurant in the bustling French Quarter of Metropolis. They were still seven or eight blocks away.

“Come on Smallville, we’ll have to hoof it. I can’t see paying the cabbie to sit on our keesters.” Lois urged, as she paid the cab fare, remembering to write it down on her Planet Expense Report.

Clark stepped out into traffic, quickly opening the door for Lois and guiding her safely to the curb. “Wonder what caused the traffic snarl?” Clark asked.

“Who knows? You’d think that fairly late on a Thursday night, the traffic would be minimal.” Lois answered. Clark didn’t seem convinced. “What’s up Smallville? Is your Spider Sense tingling or what?” Clark flashed her a lopsided grin.

“Maybe we should check it out…on the way to the restaurant of course.” He suggested. Lois caught something in his statement. Was Clark flirting with her? It seemed unlikely. It was probably just his natural farm boy charm showing through. Not that there was anything wrong with that… she considered.

Twenty five hundred miles away a team of scientists scurry about a dimly lit laboratory. “Okay team, report.” A pleasant, serious young man directed.
“I’m sorry boss. The spider camera went rogue on us and fouled up the traffic signals on the east side of Metropolis, Kansas.” A smartly dressed brown haired female lab technician explained.

“I see. Shake it off, team. Carla, what caused the S-31 to go haywire?” “It’s a bug in the software program, Mr. W., Trish and I are working on a patch. For now, we shut down the S-31. Renee said she saw the electromagnetic readings go off the chart just before the traffic signals grid locked.”

Marcus Worthington nodded. “Let me know when you’ve gotten it cleared up.” The billionaire entrepreneur stated calmly. Field tests were always risky, though we always manage to learn a lot, he considered. “Marla, where’s the S-31 now?” The young red haired technician’s fingers sped across the keyboard.

“We have her hidden in a large row of hedges, about 30 meters from the intersection of Melville and Fifteenth, near the Metropolis French Quarter.” Marla responded within moments.

“At least she’ll be safe there for a while, since its already past sunset in the Midwest.” Marcus nodded. “As soon as she’s clear, light her up. Engage stealth mode. Bring her back here.” Marla keyed the coordinates in. “Oui” She joked. “She’s on standby.”

This seemed to satisfy her boss. “Trish?” He turned his attentions to the Tech Ops Assistant Manager. The highly intelligent thirty something blonde was ready for instructions. “Yeah boss?”

Marcus waved her away from the console, and the two of them walked slowly toward the high-speed hydraulic lift elevator. “You want to know what happened in the skies above Smallville yesterday.” Trish proactively began.

"Exactly." Marcus placed his hands behind his back.

next up Ch 5 Advanced.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----

Advanced

Lois and Clark headed towards the Chez Beaumond. A moment later, Superman heard an unusual beeping sound. He was surprised that his super sensitive hearing was able to pick out one specific sound amidst the myriad of big city noises. He forced himself to concentrate, blocking out the background elements.

One noise he wasn't able to block out was Lois's excited and highly charged voice. She was rambling on, drifting from one subject to another. Her random emotional displays had been wreaking havoc with Clark's concentration.

Superman finally pinpointed the sound. It was coming from behind a row of thick hedges nearby. "...so I think, in fact, that I know that Lex killed his father, Lionel." Lois finally concluded.

Clark barely caught her last statement. She'd paused to take a breath, and her silence had attracted him. "Yeah, me too." He added. "It's horrible. I mean how can a son kill his father?"

Lois had been wondering if Clark was paying attention. His response was satisfactory enough for her at the moment. "We all knew that Lex was bad news...but this goes beyond..."

Lois began to slow her speech, noting that Clark seemed distracted. She continued on. "Anyway, Jimmy and I saw the video disc from the camera footage. There's no question that Lex shoved Lionel out the window."

They reached the restaurant's front doors. "That's why some broad nearly turned us into human popsicles, and that's why the Feds, and Lex's goons have been after us. We need to be careful, Clark."

Superman glanced back towards the beeping sound again, as he automatically opened the door for Lois. He would excuse himself for a minute once they'd gotten settled at the table. Clark would then use his hyper speed to check it out and return.

"Two Please!" Lois said as she waved at the concierge. A pleasant young man guided them to a table near the window, overlooking the Metropolis French Quarter, and its row of diners and fine restaurants. Clark held the chair for Lois as she seated herself.

Lois folded her skirt underneath her long tan legs, stacking their purchases on the floor beneath the table. She noted Clark's attentive courtesy. A girl could get used to this, she mentally praised him. "Okay, Smallville, spill it!" Lois directed.

"What?" Clark flashed her his most 'innocent' smile. They placed their preliminary drink orders. "You've been distracted all evening." Lois accused abruptly. This must've driven Lana nuts, she mused. "I'm sorry, Lois." Clark defended weakly.

"I guess it's just that this is a big decision...you know...with the Daily Planet and all." He tried to downplay his recent actions. "Clark..." Lois began, quickly making eye contact with him, and taking his hand in hers. Immediately, the young superhero's eyes began to heat up.

I haven't felt like this since Lana...he thought, simultaneously forcing his eyes to cool down. Lois was indeed attractive...

"Clark, It's just me!" Lois lowered her voice until it was just above a whisper. "I don't want to put any more pressure on you, but..." she continued to hold his hand.

This is almost like a date, Clark observed, momentarily stunned. "Smallville, I need you..." Lois began. "I...uh...need you to help me out." She corrected. "We're a great team! Every Nancy Drew needs her Hardy Boy. It'll be fun. You'll see."

"Lois and Clark at the Daily Planet! It's just like Butch Cassidy and Sundance, Bonnie and Clyde, or whatever." She continued enthusiastically. Superman noted that she'd said 'Lois and Clark', not 'Clark and Lois'. He hid a smirk, caught completely off guard by her.

"Yeah, but most of those teams ended in disaster." Clark jabbed. "Aw! Don't be so negative!" Lois countered. "Think of it this way, every superhero needs her sidekick." Oops! Great one, Lois. She berated herself. Open mouth, insert foot! Maybe I should just shut up!

"I never really pictured myself as a sidekick, Lois." Clark wasn't offended by her comment. Yet, he still wanted to let her stew. What truly bothered him was that he felt like this new partnership with Lois was like cheating on Chloe.

"Uh...look, the food's here!" Lois announced. Just in time, too! She thought, placing her napkin in her lap. Clark found her gaffe amusing, but there was some truth in her off the wall remarks. It was time for him to make some changes in his life.

He suddenly couldn't picture himself without Lois in his life. Disturbing! Clark shook his head. The couple began to dig into their meal. Time to investigate, Superman decided. "Lois, would you excuse me for a moment?" He asked politely.

"Sure Clark! When nature calls, we listen!" She joked, and began to amuse herself by reading the after dinner drinks menu. Clark's nice, but a bit odd. She mentally criticized. As her mind wandered, Lois began rehashing her relationship with Clark.

Overall, she liked him, yet there was more to him than meets the eye, she observed. Chloe won't talk and neither will Kara. Since that first day when I met him stark naked and down with amnesia, things have gotten progressively more bizarre, Lois considered.

Clark zipped out the back door and circled around to the front, using his blinding speed. He quickly located the strange beeping object. It was hidden from view, behind a large thick row of greenish brown hedges. Superman stepped into the bushes, bending low to inspect the creation.

This is the thing that I was chasing, or it was chasing me, yesterday prior to the jet incident, Clark guessed. It was spherical, silver, roughly about the size of a basketball, and decidedly out of place in the bushes across from Metropolis Central Park.

A black, transparent section of it, contained a blinking red light. A camera? "Terrific!" Clark grumbled. He reached down and picked it up, locating two partially opened panels near the presumed bottom of the device.

Clark used his x-ray vision to peer inside. "Hmmm!" Circuits, microchips, electronic connectors, common wires, and a unique looking propulsion system, the likes of which he'd never seen before. He mentally recorded all of the internal systems.

It's definitely man made, Clark thought thankfully. No indication of Kryptonian influence. He spotted a brand name emblazoned between and below the partially open hatches. "WCO", There's a clue, he observed.

An elderly woman happened to walk by, just then, and she gave Clark a dirty look. Given that he was loitering in the bushes, she continued on, glancing back with disgust. After she'd passed, Clark zipped into hyper speed, carrying the globe like a football.

He sped to Smallville, choosing to hide the silvery object in his barn loft for further study. He would return the device to its rightful owners, of course, as soon as he'd finished examining it. Superman hauled back to the restaurant.

Lois was still lost in thought, just finishing her meal, and perusing the dessert menu. "Everything come out all right?" She quipped, sipping on a fresh margarita. "Huh?" Clark glanced at her blankly. She sighed, not surprised that he hadn't picked up on her playful comment. This is going to be a long weekend, she thought sourly.

Meanwhile, across the country at WorthingtonCo Research and Development, Trish was in a panic. "Where's Marcus?" She demanded of her subordinates. The Lead Technician was met only with shrugs and blank stares.

"The S-31 has been found and moved!" Her risen voice belied the sense of urgency that she was looking for. A couple of her subordinates gasped. "Did you try his cell phone?"

Just then, Marcus walked into the Main Ops room. His complexion was ashen. "What's up, boss?" Melanie, the Server Link technician asked worriedly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Marcus sat contemplatively in his plush office chair at the Ops central control work station. "Perhaps I have, Melanie." He replied vacantly. "Trish, run the feed from the S-31 before it went haywire."

She complied, setting the video feed up on the multi-screened monitors surrounding them placed on the central Ops forward wall. They all watched the three minute video stream.

"That looks like a guy in bluejeans and a white dress shirt...flying?" Rukmina observed. "I thought it was just my eyes." Meaghan remarked. "Nope. We clearly have stumbled across something unusual here." Marcus added. "Now there's an understatement." Trish said, gulping. Marc folded his hands calmly in his lap.

"Where is the S-31 now?" He asked warily. "It just took flight...or was taken a few moments ago." Trish responded, realizing the full magnitude of the situation. Carla called up the location by GPS on the view screen.

"It's now about seventeen miles from Metropolis, in a rural area called Smallville. All systems read stand by. The S-31 seems virtually undamaged. We should be able to bring her home. Her guidance system probably got scrambled when she nearly contacted...the flying guy." Melanie said.

Marcus considered his options silently. "No. Another flight would be too risky. We dare not let the S-31's technology find it's way into the wrong hands. Zara and I will head out to Smallville and pick it up." Trish objected: "We can do that for you, boss." Marc shook his head, and clenched his square jaw.

"No. I want to investigate our airborne phantom as well." Marc countered. "It's too dangerous." Rukmina objected. Headstrong and determined, Marc would not be swayed. "I may have to make whoever has the S-31 an offer to buy his or her silence." Trish sighed. "I still advise against it."

"Duly noted." Marc smiled as he spoke. "Thanks Trish. Zara and I can take care of ourselves." Trish knew that she wouldn't win this argument. "Okay, but here's the latest intel." She called up another program and displayed it on the view screen. "WayneCo Industries, Queen Industries, and LuthorCorp all have vested interests in or around Metropolis." That caught Marc's attention.

"Into the viper's nest, eh?" He commented, directing his remarks at LuthorCorp. "WayneCo and Queen Industries are reputable businesses and frequent rivals. LuthorCorp, on the other hand, stinks to high heaven."

"Sir, remember you promised to meet with the reporters from the Daily Planet tomorrow." Meaghan reminded him. "Yes. Thanks Meaghan, but rescuing the S-31 takes priority. Send Symone over to keep them busy until Zara and I return. Schedule a tour of the facilities for them as well."

"Our adventure may run long. Maggie, keep an eye on them." Marc directed. "They can see everything within Level 1 Security clearance." The chief of security nodded confidently. "I'll watch them like a hawk, sir."

"I'll get in touch with Zara." He instructed. "It will be wheels up within the hour." Trish gave him a mock salute. "We'll keep monitoring the S-31 in case there's any change in status or location."

Marc smiled broadly. "I'd expect nothing less, Trish, thank you."

Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Coming Soon!

Much to Clark’s objection, Lois paid their dinner bill with the Daily Planet P Card. “Really Smallville, we’re on the job, technically. It’s not as if we were on a date or something.” Lois playfully argued.

“Yeah, I know. It still didn’t seem right.” Clark acquiesced. “This is how big business is done.” She explained. “Back on the farm, Dad and I would simply do business with a handshake.”

“As romantic a notion that is, we’re now officially part of the corporate bureaucracy.” Lois patiently added. “You are going to commit to the Daily Planet aren’t you?” Clark sighed. “Yes, Lois. It still ought to be Chloe who’s elevated to Cub Reporter status.”

Lois agreed. “I know, but that’s the path she chose. By hacking into the government database, Chloe sacrificed her career.”

“You know that you would’ve done the same thing.” Clark pointed out. “Yes I would.” Lois smiled. “The facts are that I need to keep my job. I’m not going back to the Talon slinging coffee, or go crawling on my hands and knees to the General, and beg for a plush government office job.”

“Actually, the General would have probably stuck me on some base somewhere, cooking up K-Rations and cleaning latrines!” Lois laughed. “Not me, Smallville. I need to be out in the world, getting my hands dirty…” Clark couldn’t resist. “…Sticking your nose in other people’s business.”

“Exactly, Clark.” Lois took his barb in stride. Clark held the door open for her and tried to hail a cab. Naturally, cabbie after cabbie zipped past. Lois stepped to the edge of the curb, and rolled up her skirt to a much higher level. Clark rolled his eyes. To her dismay, the cabbies still didn’t stop.

Clark whistled loudly as Lois winced. Two cabs screeched to a halt. “Geez, Smallville, Are you trying to make me deaf?” She whined. “The cabs stopped, didn’t they?” Clark defended. He opened the door to the nearest one. “Daily Planet, please.” Clark directed the driver.

This time Lois made it a point to sit much closer to Clark, literally half in his lap. She quietly leaned on his shoulder. Clark’s eyes began to heat up again, and he forced them to cool. “Tired, eh?” Superman cautiously put his arm around her shoulder, fearing that she’d protest. She didn’t.

“I guess that I’m just a bit out of shape, with the new job and all.” Lois admitted. “So, tomorrow we meet with this Worthington guy.” Clark nodded. “It ought to be interesting.” Lois disagreed. “I don’t know, Clark. One billionaire is just like another.” She aimed the criticism at her ex boyfriend, Oliver.

Shortly they pulled up at the newspaper’s parking lot. Lois paid the cab fare, and quickly jotted it down on her expense report. Clark walked Lois to her car.

“Well, hop in, Smallville.” She urged. “Hey, how’d you get to work today anyway?” Clark gulped. Being nervous about the interview with Perry, he’d completely forgotten to bring his truck. “Oh, Kara gave me a ride.” Clark lied.

“Okay. Where is the youngest Kent?” Lois grilled. “Uh, I think she borrowed the truck to head up to Comet Creek Beach.” Clark truly hated lying to Lois who was skeptical. “Hmmm, I think we ought to combine our efforts for tomorrow to save time.” She began with a twinkle in her eye. “Let’s stop off at the Talon first.”

“First?” Clark echoed. “Yeah, Clark, I’ll pack and drive you back to the farm. We can leave for the airport together from there. I get dibs on the shower.” Lois nearly giggled an unusual sound to Clark. That would make things a bit more complicated, he mused. I still have to check on the silver globe.

End 5.0

Next up
Ch 6 - First Mission

[Chlollie]

nice.

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions ch. 6

First Mission: 6.0

Lois hurriedly packed some clothes, including a new bikini, which held Clark’s interest as he waited for her to finish. The young superhero had been amusing himself by Googling the net, searching for any further info on Marcus Worthington.“Let’s go Smallville, wheels up in five!” Lois urged as Clark grimaced. “Must you quote Oliver slash Green Arrow?” He protested. “Aw! Don’t whine, Clarkie.”

Lois purposely pinched his cheek because she knew that it would annoy him. Superman sighed as he held the door open for her. By the time they reached Clark’s farm, it was close to midnight. Lois yawned and said: “I’m beat Clark. I think I’ll turn in. Remember up and at ‘em by 7 am per Perry White. Do you have to slap the hogs, milk the cows, and feed the chickens before we go?” She teased.

Clark grinned thinly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be ready. Goodnight Lois.” She waved and walked upstairs right into his bedroom, closing the door behind her. Couch city, eh? He mentally groused. It’s just as well, he thought, quickly zipping out to the barn to check on the mysterious globe.

It sat right where he’d left it. He noted a slight buzzing sound that only his superior hearing could’ve heard. The object, whatever it was, seemed to still be operational. It yielded no new clues. I guess I’ll just have to leave it be for now, Clark decided, covering it with an old tarp.

The next morning, Lois and Clark headed out to Metropolis International Airport, and their flight wound up sitting on the tarmac. “Typical!” Lois grumbled. “Did you ever notice that the initials for the airport are MIA, as in my flight is missing in action?” She cynically quipped.

Clark laughed, again considering a possible future relationship involvement with his young partner. She is certainly something, he mentally praised. Lois seemed to pick up on his attitude. “Why are you so cheerful, Smallville?” She asked skeptically. “I don’t know…well rested I guess.” “Good for you.” Lois playfully griped.

“I had dreams about some kind of flying guy with a red cape again. It must have been that apple martini last night. Either way I spent more time tossing and turning than sleeping.” Clark chuckled. “You were probably just worried about the interview.”

“I hate it that you know me so well.” Lois gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “Anyway, I’ll do most of the talking to Marcus Moneybags, and you take notes and check his body language. Every billionaire that I’ve ever met always has a secondary agenda.”

“Why did Worthington suddenly decide to open up? He hadn’t granted anyone an interview in years?” Lois wondered out loud. “Maybe some kind of public relations stunt or he’s hyping some new pet project?” Clark guessed. Lois smiled. “Very good, Smallville. We’ll make a reporter of you yet.” She gave him a backhanded compliment.

Finally their flight took off, two hours late. Lois snoozed peacefully on the three hour flight to Arizona. Once they landed, the cub reporters began their first Daily Planet mission together. A Worthington Co limo picked them up at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport.

Their luggage had been sent ahead to Red Cliff Resort along Lake Havasu. “Wow Smallville, check out the digs!” Lois watched out the window.The resort was lined with decorative cacti, some flowering, and some reaching skyward for many feet. Guests on horseback dotted the main road leading to the resort hotel. Dozens of young people swam, rode jet skis, and sunbathed along the large man made beach.

Lake Havasu had been created specifically as an entertainment facility, saddled with the secondary responsibility of gathering an emergency water supply for the parched, barren desert surrounding it. Lois rolled down the limo window, and the hot desert air swept in at her.

“Now this is what I’m talking about.” She smiled brightly, shading her eyes from the sun, as it hung high in the cloudless blue sky. At midday the temperature had reached 115 degrees. “Hey but it’s a dry heat.” Lois quipped as Clark rolled his eyes. He was working on a new plan.

Lois and Clark checked in at the Red Cliff office. “Yes, we’ve received word of your arrival from Mr. Worthington.” The tall middle-aged desk clerk confirmed their reservations. “We have you booked into a waterside condo.” Lois checked her itinerary. “I thought we’d simply booked a room.”

“Yes, however a representative from Worthington Co, a Miss Symone Cartier, insisted on an upgrade per Mr. Worthington’s Office of Public Relations. They’re picking up the extended cost.”

“Wow! This guy doesn’t fool around.” Lois remarked as Clark silently agreed. “Thank you.” He politely accepted the high tech key card for the condo. The clerk handed them a map. “You’re in Unit 4 Southwest. Your bags have just arrived, and will be waiting for you.”

Lois tried to tip the desk clerk from her P Card, but he shook his head, stating that Mr. Worthington had also covered any gratuities, excluding a bar tab. “Okay. Thanks.” Lois started for the office door with Clark at her heel. “I don’t know about you, Smallville, but I’m parched.”

“Let’s check out the facility before we head for the condo.” Clark suggested. A single red-haired, bikini clad young woman watched their every move like a hawk. She grabbed her beach towel and followed Lois and Clark at a short distance. “I’m roasting, Clark. Maybe we should change.”

“Okay.” He agreed and Lois checked the map and followed the directions to the beachside condo. “Here it is.” She shaded her eyes and pointed to a good-sized rose colored condo building with Native American Indian hand painted designs along its entire façade.“Snazzy.” Lois praised.

Their shadow girl kept watch on them from the other side of the condo row. Lois and Clark headed up the cool wooden walkway toward the condo. “Can you believe this?” Lois asked. “There’s a beachside bar right across from our condo. This is top shelf."

“Yeah, it seems too good to be true.” Clark commented drily. “You think that Worthington is trying to soften us up?” Lois wondered as she slipped the keycard into its lock. The device beeped and she opened the door. Clark followed her in. “That would be my guess.”

Lois whistled. “Nice! There’s a kitchenette, not that I’d be doing any cooking.” She commented as Clark smirked. “Uh oh! Smallville, there’s only one bed, though it’s a double bed.” She made it a point to taunt Clark. “That’s okay Lois, we’ll flip for it.” He deadpanned.

Lois sighed. Lance Romance he was not. She thought sourly. “I’ll hit the shower first.” She offered. “Want me to scrub your back?” Clark returned the tease. Lois laughed. “Nice try, Clark!” He sat down comfortably on the living room sofa bed. Lois unpacked her luggage.

Clark received a text message from Oliver. It read: "Found Chloe, can’t release her. Plan B." As soon as Lois got ready for the shower, he yelled through the bathroom doorway: “Lois, I’m going to try and scare up some food, and look for a gift shop!”

His super hearing heard Lois’s clothes drop to the floor. “Swell, Clark!” She retorted. “After this I’m heading for the bar and the beach!” He locked up the condo and sped to a secluded part of the lower half of Red Cliff Mountain. The girl observing them was able to follow Clark’s run to a certain point, before losing sight of him completely.

“That was interesting.” She murmured as she sat on the corner stool of the beachside bar. Clark called Oliver’s cell. “Boy Scout. Can you talk?” He asked. “Green Arrow. Yeah for a few minutes before my next meeting."

"Scout, we were unable to secure Oracle. The Feds traded her to a company in Nevada called Candle Brook Outpatient Services. Guess what? Surprise, surprise, Candle Brook is partnered with LuthorCorp.”

Clark nearly spat. “I’m going up there. What’s the location?” Oliver was silent, back in Star City, as he waited for another executive to pass him by. “Texting it now. Need backup?” Clark read the last known address of Candle Brook. “No, I’ll try and get her out the front door, if not, she’s coming with me regardless.” Clark replied.

Oliver grinned. That sounds slightly illegal. Scout, we’re a bad influence on you.” Oliver quipped. “My guess is that Candle Brook is another 33.1 facility. I’ll have a look around.” Clark added. “I’m on assignment from the Daily Planet.” Oliver’s eyes widened. “Really? Lo’ with you?”

“Affirmative.” Clark tried to sound more official than usual. “We need a code name for her.” Oliver said. “How about Parrot?” Dinah Lance joked. She’d been next to Oliver, disguised as his secretary. “Funny!” Oliver remarked.

“The rules don’t apply, here.” Clark said with conviction.“Now that’s what I like to hear, Boy Scout.” Oliver praised. “Operation ‘Free Oracle’, will be fully funded by Queen Industries”, he told Clark.

“Try not to do too much damage to the place. I mean why should you have all the fun?” Oliver said, sarcastically. “If it is 33.1 we’ll be coming in with guns blazing as soon as you’ve secured Oracle.”

“Got it. I’ll let you know. Boy Scout out." Clark flipped off the phone, and zipped back into the condo. Lois was still in the shower. He heard the water running. Clark checked Lois’s Raspberry for an exact location of the Candle Brook facility. He then sped off.

Their shadow girl watched intensely as Clark shot off into the desert. “Recording.” She said as she saw Clark disappear into the distance. “Security risk high.” She muttered. A few minutes later, Superman showed up at the Candle Brook’s front desk.

“Can I speak with Chloe Sullivan?” He asked politely. The receptionist glanced up from her Cosmo Magazine. “Are you a relative?” She responded automatically. “No, just a friend.” Clark replied hopefully. The desk jockey played around with her computer screen for a moment.

“I’m sorry, there’s no such person registered here.” The clerk informed him. “Are you sure? She would be a recent transfer.” Clark tried to be charming with little effect. “No, I’m sorry sir.” She gazed past him towards the door. “Thank you.”

He pretended to give up, and examine the room’s art work, walking slowly in the direction of the exit.Immediately, thinking Clark was out of earshot, the clerk called a number.

“Front desk. Some guy was just here looking for Transfer 211. I didn’t get his name.” She reported to her supervisor. Of course, Clark heard her, and listened to the reply on the other end of the line.

“Maybe we should transfer 211 to lower level 5 B just to be safe. E Mail the order.” The male voice at the other end of the conversation said. “Will do, boss.” The receptionist confirmed. Clark opened the door to the outdoors and then zipped into hyper speed to glance at the secretary’s screen.

She felt a stiff breeze as Superman passed her and headed to where they were currently holding Chloe. It was a generic looking whitewashed corridor which led to cells about the size of a single room occupancy hotel room. Chloe reclined on a couch. He thought she looked different.

Chloe’s blonde hair was long and straggly, her face was slightly gaunt, and she’d lost some weight. Clark ripped open the cell door, and stepped in. “Time to go, Chloe!” He directed as alarms went off all over the area. “Oh Clark! Thank God!” Chloe wanted to embrace him, but didn’t seem to have enough strength. She limped a few feet in his direction. He picked her up.

“Clark express to the rescue!” She joked. He carried her at half speed through the winding nondescript corridors. The other cells were populated by ‘patients’ as well. “I’m sorry I took so long to get here. Oliver was trying to go through the proper channels. This is a Level 33.1 facility?”

“Yes.” Chloe answered weakly. “Oliver and the boys will want to tear it up.” She added. They were suddenly surrounded by guards. They would have been no challenge for Clark to knock over. He readied his path. “I got it, Clark!” Chloe said angrily. She slapped one hand against the wall.

A sizeable bolt of electricity zigzagged along the wall starting minor electrical fires in the wall, and the bolt continued on to the floor, instantly shocking the guards with a moderate electrical charge. They would be all right, other than some low level burns on their feet and hands from the guns and nightsticks that they were holding.

“Whoa!” Clark gaped. “I take it we have something to discuss.” Chloe nodded, though the efforts nearly made her lose consciousness. Clark made a quick right turn, literally tearing through the walls of the building.

Daylight forced Chloe to close her eyes. “Not much for subtlety.” She joked.“Where are we off to?” Chloe asked, though her voice was hoarse. “Arizona.” Clark said simply, as he dashed towards the border past Las Vegas, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam.

next up: Ch 7: Symone

[Clarky123]

Keep going this is gold

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions ch. 7

Chapter 7.0 Symone

Symone is my original AI character unrelated to the movie of the same name.

Here's the 2nd part of Chapter 6:

Chloe was breathing heavily as Clark sped through the canyons of the desert southwest. He spotted a leftover snow patch high atop a mountain peak in the Rockies. Superman slowed to a normal pace, as Chloe’s head bounced limply against his chest. “Hey, Chlo’ stay with me here.”

Clark awakened the exhausted girl. “You’re not the only one with something new to show off.” He teased as he brushed Chloe’s frazzled hair from her eyes. She forced a grin. “Observe!” Clark said as he leapt skyward, clumsily soaring toward the snowcapped mountain.

Superman landed in the center of the cool clear ridge within the snow pack. “Nice, Clark!” Chloe praised. “At least you’ve been practicing.” Clark put her down and she wobbly stood next to him. Chloe reached for a handful of fresh clean snow and wiped her forehead with it.

“That’s better.” Chloe leaned against Kal’s shoulder. “What’re you doing out west again?” She probed. “Lois and I are working on a story for the Daily Planet.” He replied, adding: “You don’t mind, do you?” Chloe shrugged. “I think you’ll do great. I’m just surprised Lois talked you into it.”

“We felt like we were robbing you of your dream job. I mean Lois was really depressed about you. I certainly missed all of our adventures.” Clark held Chloe up. She put her hand on his chest. “I had a lot of time to think about everything while they were poking and prodding me at 33.1”

“Clark, we can’t let LuthorCorp succeed in building an army of meteor powered mutants.” Chloe began, taking a deep breath of the clean fresh air. “I’ve decided to join Oliver and the crew full time. He’ll fund our Isis Foundation as well, since Lana has effectively deserted us.”

“If that’s your choice.” Clark said noncommittally. “Yes it is, Clark.” Chloe confirmed. “Okay, I’ll tell Lois that I’ll quit the Planet. Our mission is much more important than a journalism job.” Superman offered.

“Well, why? That’s the perfect place for you and my well meaning cousin to be. Think about it. You have access to the Planet’s database. I’ll crack the encryptions for you.”

“You really don’t mind that Lois and I are stealing your glory?” Clark asked worriedly. “No. Seriously Clark, there’s a whole world out there to explore. I’ll help the meteor freak community, and stay close to home. I also made another choice. I want to settle down and live my life normally.”

“Normality is overrated.” Clark teased his good friend. “I realize that, now.” Chloe chuckled. “Isn’t that ironic? I always wanted to be super powered, and you always wanted to be normal, whatever that means.” Clark held her close. “We’ll be two different people.” He added.

“Can you just see it?” Chloe smiled brightly, though her eyelids were half closed. “Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter by day, and super hero by night?” Superman nodded. “It will be tough. Yet Oliver’s doing it, and without any special supernatural abilities.”

“Chloe Sullivan, champion of the oppressed, and high voltage meteor freak.” She made light of her own situation. “Ready to go?” Clark offered. “Remember, Lois and I are still on assignment for the Planet. Do you want me to hyper speed you home?” Chloe shook her head.

“No, let’s get you back to Arizona. If I know my cousin, Lois is probably knocking on every surfer dude’s door looking for you.” Clark picked her up, and Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck.“Are you sure you can control this whole flying thing?” She asked warily.

Clark smirked. “If Kara could do it…” He launched himself off the mountaintop ravine and soared over the edge and sloped downward barely a few dozen feet above the green foliage, cacti and sagebrush. Superman flew much slower than Kara unsure of how a conscious Chloe would react.

Nearer to the mountain range base, sparsely populated ranch homes began to crop up. Clark stopped in midair with a jaw rattling jolt and sank softly into the desert sand. “Whoa! What a rush!” Chloe said as she caught her breath. “I still have to work the bugs out of my landings.” Kal admitted.

“Not bad for a flight novice.” Chloe praised, already in good spirits. “On to Lake Havasu then?” Clark nodded. “How’re we going to explain your appearance to Lois?” Chloe readied herself, lost in thought as Clark hit hyper speed and dashed across the Northern Arizona Desert.

“We could say that Oliver dropped me off?” Chloe suggested as they neared the resort area. “I guess.” Clark said hesitantly. “You’re not too keen on lying to Lois, are you?” As usual, Chloe’s observations had hit their mark. “True.” Clark admitted. “It seemed easier lying to Lana.”

Chloe beamed. “Interesting.” Superman shrugged as they walked through the front entrance to the resort village. “I’ll call Oliver, fill him in on our jailbreak, and have him back up our story in case Lois calls him.” Chloe added. “Then, I’m taking a long cool shower, and a long nap.”

“We still need to cover your new abilities.” He reminded her. “Later, Clark, I’ve no intention of going anywhere, any time soon.” Clark guided her toward the condo rental section. “How’d you acquire these new powers?” Chloe sighed. “I guess we’d better deal with that first. I’ll spare you the gory details, but our pal BRAINIAC wired me up.”

“After I recovered from the tin can’s power hook up, I landed in a secret government facility you’ve likely heard of, Area 51. It doesn’t officially exist anywhere. Yet there I was in lovely deserted Nevada, home of the first atom bomb experiments.”

“The Feds kept me locked up somewhere below the surface. Before I knew it, some official Gov Types walked me to a helicopter, blindfolded, I might add. The chopper went up and came down in a matter of moments. One of the Feds jabbed me with a knockout sedative.”

“When I awoke, I was in my new digs, where you found me. They were testing me all the time. I didn’t find out it was a 33.1 facility until yesterday. The electro-girl power amp up was partially due to BRAINIAC and also due to the Luthorcorp electrolyses treatment.”

Clark shook his head. “I’m sorry, Chloe.” She dismissed him with a wave. “Don’t be. Now I have a meteor freak ability that I can use for defense. I won’t be led like a lamb to slaughter anymore.” Clark spied Lois gazing out into the lake, presumably looking for him.

He’d been gone about a half hour total. Clark handed Chloe his phone, and she left a coded message for Oliver, before returning it. “What was he calling me? Oracle?” She asked Clark. “Yes. I didn’t get to pick my own cute nickname either.” He quipped. “An oracle is…” Chloe finished for him: “A source of wisdom.”

“I guess that’ll do.” Chloe grinned smugly as Clark rolled his eyes. “I guess we should get this over with.” He led Chloe to Lois who was still craning her neck, looking over the beach. “Hey Lois! Guess who I found?” Clark waved, and flashed his most innocent farm boy smile at her.

Lois gaped at them over her new sunglasses. “Chlo!” The young reporter nearly fell out of her beach chair getting up. “I like the new look.” Lois teased her cousin. “It says ‘early 90’s grunge girl.” Chloe and Lois hugged as Clark sported a lopsided grin. “How?” Lois asked as she unclenched.

“One word…Oliver!” Chloe despised lying to Lois, but it was a hard habit to break. “I see. The green bean comes through!” Lois snickered. “He hasn’t totally outgrown his usefulness.” Clark stood by, much more relaxed, now that Chloe was safe.

The redhead was still following the scene, this time, from a safe distance in the water. “Added: One more target to observe, interacts with Lane and Kent.” She murmured. “Identification, Sullivan Chloe. Status, fugitive. Contact not recommended.”

“So, you and Clark are working for the Daily Planet, on a story, no doubt.” Chloe began conversationally. The girls walked along ahead of Clark, who was busily taking in the beach panorama. Things could be worse, he mused. I’ll take a stuffy billionaire over BRAINIAC any day.

“Yeah, I felt so bad, Chlo’, I mean here we are on a gravy assignment while you were suffering at the hands of our wonderful government.” Lois put her arm around her younger cousin. Chloe filled her in on the experience, minus a few meteor freak related items.

“Crap! Luthorcorp strikes again!” Lois hissed. “I swear Chloe, I will bring down that poor excuse for a silver spoon swallowing egomaniac!” Clark enjoyed seeing Lois worked up about this. He considered for a moment that it probably wouldn’t be long before Lois knew everything.

He kicked around the idea of telling her the whole sordid story from the very beginning. Clark still had reservations. Could Lois resist the story of a lifetime, meaning him? Could she keep his secret? It had proven exceedingly difficult for him to keep a lid on things by himself.

Pete, Chloe, and now Lana had suffered because of him and his vaunted secret identity. His Earth father Jonathan, Lionel, Patricia Swann, and who knew how many others had lost their lives protecting him. No, this was unacceptable! He was mentally filled with angst.

“Hello? Smallville?” Lois was suddenly beside Clark. “Have you been out in the sun too long? I asked you a simple question.” Chloe was beginning to slide away from them. “I’m sorry Lois, what?” Superman had missed something. Clearly, super hearing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“I asked you if you were hungry or needed to hit the showers.” Lois repeated. “Chloe’s going to get cleaned up and join us at the restaurant near the Tiki Bar across from the entrance. How in the world have you managed not to be hot, sweaty, and disgusting in one hundred degree heat?”

“I guess that I’m just in good shape.” Clark replied lamely. “No, that’s not it! Oh, did I say that out loud?” Lois continued to tease. Chloe chuckled before waving them off. She’d gotten the electronic key card to their condo from Lois earlier. “Nice!” Superman took her joke in stride.

Lois and Clark walked along the beach, under the watchful eyes of mystery girl. The young woman slowly made her way out of the lake and came up behind them. She kept her distance, all the while muttering something under her breath.

“Clark?” Lois took a deep breath, “Can I ask you something?” Clark steeled himself for a tease, joke, or criticism from the young journalist. “Why do you always seem to get involved in things?” This question caught Clark off guard. “Such as?” He tried to play it off.

“I mean all that Lex did to you, to Lana, and too many other people to mention, you still have insisted on coming to his rescue.” Lois was practicing for a hard hitting interview, yet was Marcus Worthington truly her subject? Clark was momentarily silent.

“I guess the best way to answer that is that I hate to give up on people.” Superman surprised himself with his candor. “However, Lex has used up all of his favors with me. From now on, we’ll be mortal enemies.” Lois gulped, considering the magnitude of his statement.

“Whatever he’s up to, we have to stop him.” Lois agreed. “Now what are on all these discs that Chloe created? I mean, I’m sure most of it is none of my business…” Clark hadn’t expected that question either. “You’d have to ask Chloe, honestly, I’m not sure of all the content.”

“All I know is that she divided up her entire database on eight DVD discs. I have two, you have two, Oliver has two, and the other two went to someone that only you and she knew.” Lois recalled, expertly. “What could be so important, that those precautions needed to be taken?”

Chloe also bribed Marcus Worthington with the info discs to buy his silence, Clark remembered, but decided not to share that with Lois. “As far as I know, some of the information was what Oliver needed to go after Lex’s Level 33.1 and some of it was background on meteor freaks.”

Lois appreciated the information sharing, but in her mind, it created more questions than answers. There’s a big story here, she thought, and Clark is very sheepish about it. “You’re not going to tell me who the mystery person is that got the last two discs, are you?”

“I’m sorry Lois, but we need to protect that person.” Clark replied evasively. “It’s Kara, isn’t it?” Lois guessed. “No, I can say for certain that it’s not. I can say that she’s underage, and must be protected at all costs. Now, that’s all that I can share.” Lois finally gave up. “Fair enough.”

Clark was reluctant to admit that the recipient of the last two discs was Laura Lake, a seventeen year old girl with amazing abilities that he and Chloe had met last year. Once Laura turned eighteen, she was a legal citizen, and the government wouldn’t be able to take her away from her parents or guardian legally.

It was the same fear that Jonathan and Martha had about Clark. “How about some R and R before we eat and head out to Worthington’s place?” Lois offered playfully. “Such as?” Clark smirked. “Race you to the water. Last one in buys dinner. One, two, three…” Lois dashed straight for the lake.

Clark stripped off his shirt and followed her in. The redheaded guardian watched them flailing in the water, and headed for the reporters’ condo, where Chloe waited alone. She walked up to the door and buzzed the speaker box button.

A tired Chloe answered. “Yes?” The visitor was wary of entering any further. Chloe had just gotten out of the shower, and was wrapped tightly in a towel, as she dripped water on the ceramic tiled entryway. “Miss Sullivan?” The woman asked. Chloe gulped.

Had the Feds or Lex’s goons found her so quickly? “Who wants to know?” Chloe challenged, readying her new defensive mode. “Symone Cartier. I represent Marcus Worthington of Worthington Co.” Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.

“Okay, Miss Cartier, what can I help you with?” Chloe asked as she stepped aside. “Mr. Worthington asks if you would care to take in a meeting, say sometime this weekend?”

“Um…okay.” Chloe wondered what the strange girl was up to. She seemed like a nice person, possibly one of Worthington’s gophers. It was widely known that Marcus Worthington hired tons of women for his various schemes. He also reaped the benefits of minority hiring.

“My friends are meeting with Mr. Worthington tonight, should I accompany them?” Chloe asked cordially. “You refer to Kent Clark and Lane Lois.” Symone said. She’s a little backwards, perhaps from a foreign country, Chloe thought, noting that Symone had their surnames reversed.

“Yes.” Chloe confirmed. “I believe that they had an appointment.” Symone seemed to be viewing something in the distance, as her pale green eyes shifted from side to side. “According to my directive, Mr. Worthington wishes to meet with you exclusively."

"Updating…” Chloe glanced at the odd young woman, taking in details. With her new high speed visual processing, courtesy of the evil, hopefully out of commission, BRAINIAC, Chloe was able to memorize every nuance at a speed far superior to any current computer system.

Symone appeared to be around twenty two, had long reddish brown hair, a chiseled face with high cheekbones, was about six feet tall, and displayed not an ounce of fat on her perfectly proportioned body. In short, Symone seemed perfect, in fact, too perfect.

Chloe became very suspicious that Marcus wasn’t a simple billionaire with a passing interest in meteor freaks. The thirty-something business mogul could be a bit eccentric, she supposed… Symone interrupted her high speed rail train of thought.

Symone wore a sharp two piece blue bikini, with a multicolored wrap around skirt, and common, yet relatively expensive flip flop shoes. To the average observer, she was a normal, beautiful young woman, yet Chloe began to suspect the overly polite representative.

“Miss Sullivan, Mr. Worthington’s staff concurs. You may bring Kent Clark with you to the meeting. However Lane Lois would not be invited to attend.” Symone chopped her speech. “Very well, I don’t know what Clark’s schedule is like, but I’m here on a weekend vacation…”

“That is not likely.” Symone pointed out. “Excuse me?” Chloe put one hand on her hip, while holding the towel up with the other. “Protocol: override.” Symone babbled. “What?” Chloe frowned. This could be a trap, but at least she and Clark both had the powers now to defend themselves, She mused as she awaited Symone’s next gaffe.

The strange girl suddenly smiled.Symone had perfectly white teeth, in a perfect alignment with one another, Chloe noted. The stranger stood silently by with a passive smile on her face. “Symone, can you check Mr. Worthington’s schedule and get back to me, I’m at…”

The representative cut her off in mid-sentence. “Mr. Worthington has an opening in his schedule at 10:30 AM tomorrow. Would you like to tentatively accept?” Symone smiled brightly again. “Yes, I suppose I would. I’ll check with Clark.” Symone nodded and thanked Chloe.

Without another word, the odd girl turned on her heel and left. Chloe stared after her. She walked and looked like a real girl, but by now Chloe had to assume that Symone was likely some sort of artificial intelligence. Chills crawled up her spine, strangely in the one hundred degree heat.

Chloe settled down in front of the TV, quickly memorizing any and all news stories that she considered relevant, eventually nodding off after super processing all the information. Soon, Lois and Clark came in noisily, yet Chloe snoozed peacefully on the condo’s mini sofa.

Lois and Clark began to get ready for their meeting, making an effort to let Chloe sleep. “My God, Clark, she must’ve been exhausted.” Lois covered her younger cousin with a blanket. Superman nodded, adding that Chloe had likely suffered under first government, and then Level 33.1 control.

The young reporters had barely finished getting dressed, when the condo doorbell buzzed. Lois hit the intercom speaker button. “Yes?” She asked with annoyance, fearing that the interruption would wake Chloe. Still, she slept soundly. Clark was worried, but they had to keep up appearances.

“Hello Miss Lane, Mr. Kent?” A pleasant female voice crackled through the intercom. “Symone Cartier, Mr. Worthington’s representative.” Lois warily opened the condo door. The young lady smiled brightly, as she walked in, with perfect posture, wearing a sensible evening mini dress.

Symone’s reddish hair was styled up, giving her the appearance of a presidential candidate, or a sophisticated businesswoman. Clark came up behind Lois after checking on Chloe. “Are you ready for your meeting?” Symone asked with perfect vocal inflection. “I’ll be driving you there.”

“What about it, Clark? Ready?” Lois asked playfully. She had yet to pick her outfit for the evening. “As soon as you are.” He countered. In point of fact, Clark had his clothes laid out in the second bedroom, and could zip into them in a matter of seconds.

“I must apologize for arriving early. My internal clock must be off.” Symone stated vaguely. The girl simply waved when Lois extended a hand of greeting. Lois didn’t think much about it, after all not everybody liked to be touched.

“Not a problem, Miss Cartier.” Clark responded smoothly.“We’re almost ready.” Lois said politely, “Please come in.” Symone gracefully glided past Lois and Clark, and quickly surveyed their room, noting Chloe snoozing peacefully. “Our friend has had a busy day.” Superman said, picking up on Symone’s direction of sight. “Has she?”

Symone said as she carefully skirted the couch. “Please have a seat.” Lois offered. The girl grinned widely and sat down again with perfect posture and elegantly crossed her long legs. Clark stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t believe his super sensitive ears.

He had heard a series of distinctive sounds that had no right to be here with them in the condo. Superman swore that he’d heard whirring gears, beeping noises, and flipping valve switches!

The sounds had to be either above or below the auditory range of normal humans.Only one possibility existed: Symone was a form of robot, likely an android! This sent all types of red flags up in Clark’s psyche.

After all he’d been through with BRAINIAC, they were merely a few feet away from a new artificial intelligence. Kal gulped worriedly. Don’t panic!

[Chlollie]

ppms

[gardy1]

Symone part 2

Clark couldn’t let Lois know how he’d found out, at least not yet. Clark would play it by ear, so to speak. Symone hadn’t posed a threat so far. He desperately needed to find out what the AI built to perfection was up to.

Who was controlling her? Were they wrong about Marcus Worthington? Clark hadn’t even noticed a hitch in Symone’s movement. Had BRAINIAC gotten to Worthington? He excused himself, heading to the spare bedroom, and dressing quickly in a smart blue short sleeved button down shirt, gray kackies, and dress shoes, he zipped back into the main room.

Symone was busily chatting with Lois. The AI had lowered her vocalizations to just above a whisper, as she addressed the young reporter. “The two of you work at the Metropolis Daily Planet?” Symone asked conversationally. Of course, this was just small talk. The AI had been fully briefed.

“I work there officially.” Lois clarified. “Clark is just helping me out on this story. I’m hoping to talk him into going full time.” Symone registered that tidbit, and without turning to face him, she included Clark on the discussion. “Do you think that’s your true destiny?” She asked.

Clark swallowed hard. That sounded like something that BRAINIAC or Jor El would’ve said. “Mr. Kent?” Symone slowly turned to face him. Clark again heard the sound of smoothly rotating gears. “Please call me Clark.” He said uncomfortably as Lois rolled her eyes.

Lois assumed that Clark was lamely attempting to flirt with the strange beauty. She grew bored and took her turn in the spare bedroom getting ready. A thousand questions sped through Superman’s mind. Who had created the girl AI with such precision?

“Clark? How’s the farming business?” Symone began pleasantly. Clearly Symone’s creators had done their homework. “Um…it’s going well.” Clark replied as he fiddled with a gold striped tie. “We had a bit of a drought in Central Kansas this year.”

“I had heard that the rate of precipitation in Kansas had not been optimal for crop growth this year.” Symone commented as Lois hurriedly walked back in. Clark was impressed. Lois had gotten ready in record time. He found that amusing. “Smallville, let me, before you strangle yourself.”

Lois undid Clark’s tie and reset it properly. “We’ve had to conserve water most of the season.” He added as Lois pulled the tie tight. “The average percentage of humidity in Wahkesia, Northern Arizona, where the Worthington Estate is located, is at most, nineteen percent.”

Symone continued, sounding more like a tourism guide than a highly advanced AI. “This time of year, water conservation is a must.” The AI smiled evenly as Lois stared at her blankly. Symone’s eyes never met hers. “Are we ready to go, Clark?” Lois asked impatiently.

“Sure.” He responded, curling his lips in a playful sneer. Symone moved quickly and gracefully, startling Lois. “The trip to the Worthington Ranch Estate will take approximately seventy two minutes, accounting for traffic patterns.” Symone added as she headed for the door.“Traffic patterns?” Lois echoed.

“What are we going to do, run into a buzzard, vulture, and longhorn rush hour?” She asked with her usual cynicism. Symone mostly ignored her barb, saying only that the surrounding area was not optimal for longhorn steer grazing. Clark snickered.

“Oh joy!” Lois remarked sarcastically as she opened the door for Symone. “Perhaps you two crazy kids would like to discuss cattle futures and hog prices?” Symone glanced back at Clark who was locking up the condo. “Is that line of discussion of interest to you Clark?”

Lois fumed. To her, it appeared that Symone was hitting on Clark, and he was soaking it all up. She groaned. Clark wanted to x-ray Symone’s inner workings, but resisted, unwilling to alert the AI to his powers, especially in front of Lois.

Symone guided them to a green and gold colored SUV, with the Worthington Co logo painted across its hood and door. Clark was wary of an AI that could drive them around. What if her power supply gave out? He wondered silently. For that matter, how was she powered?

His curiosity grew, and Clark decided to look for an opportunity to x-ray her later. Symone courteously opened the SUV doors for them. “Shotgun!” Lois called, as she slid into the passenger side seat. Symone went into automatic defense mode. Her eyes glowed green.

Clark stared in amazement, as Symone pulled a blue steel pistol from somewhere…Clark shuddered to think of where she’d had it hidden. “Whoa! Symone! Relax! It’s just an expression!” He gestured for her to put the gun away as he got in.

Symone’s eyes went back to their artificial blue.“Accessing: DEFCON Five protocol initiative reset.” Symone muttered at a low volume that only Clark could hear. “Let’s go!” Lois urged. “We don’t want to keep Mr. Worthington waiting.” Symone was back to her smiling self as she deftly slid behind the steering wheel.

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. I doubt very much if BRAINIAC had anything to do with Symone’s creation, he considered as they headed out of the resort. Then who had created the high tech AI? Obviously Marcus Worthington, though the question remains did he do it alone?

To her credit, Symone did her best to keep the conversation rolling as she drove at precisely fifty seven miles per hour, in accordance with the local speed limit signs. In the open desert area, the limit increased to sixty five, and as you may expect, Symone clipped along at sixty seven.

“So, Miss Lane, have you worked for the Daily Planet long?” Symone asked politely, though she knew Lois’s biography inside and out by now. “About a year in various positions.” Lois replied absently as she watched the purplish brown mountains whip by in the distance.

“What is your favorite position?” Symone asked innocently, as Clark snickered. “Uh…the one I’m in now, Cub Reporter.” Lois deadpanned. Symone continued to smile, blissfully unaware of Clark’s cynical sophomoric thoughts. “Shut it, Smallville!” Lois snapped.

“What?” Clark flashed his most innocent look at her. Symone gave them both a look of confusion. Surprisingly, the AI’s company was fairly interesting, Clark observed. They’d done a fine job with her advanced programming, he mentally praised.

Scary! Finally, the multicolored iron gates marking the entrance road to Worthington Ranch, appeared. Symone slowed the SUV to a stop. A colorful guard shack was placed just to the right of the road in front of the gates.

A dark skinned young woman in a full security outfit, complete with sidearm, badge, and nametag approached the vehicle. “Oh! Hello Symone!” The guard’s eyes widened. “Officer Landers, greetings. This is Kent Clark and Lane Lois of the Daily Planet. We have an appointment with Mr. Worthington at eighteen hundred hours.” Symone stated smoothly.

“Okay. Proceed. I’ll notify Security Chief O’Rourke.” Landers buzzed the gates open, scratching her head. “Thank you Officer Landers.” Symone drove them into the compound. The ranch was layered in several rocky bluffs. Each reached about ten to twelve feet higher than the previous outcropping. Just beyond the bluffs were multidimensional cactus and wildflower gardens.

The ranch house itself was approximately sixty feet above the guard shack and entrance gate. It was surrounded by riding stables and a large multi-door garage. Some unusual foliage was located alongside the horse corral and garage.

The plants and trees seemed out of place with the desert flora. Admittedly, Lois was no expert, but the foliage reminded her of tropical plant life. How on Earth did Worthington get them to grow in the middle of a supposedly barren desert?

She spied the large archway that led from the access road into the ranch house compound itself. “Hmm! Welcome to Jurassic Park.” Lois joked, making Clark flash a lopsided grin. Symone chose to ignore Lois’s comment. The AI didn’t seem too thrilled with Lois at all, Superman noted.

The AI drove the SUV onto the smoothly paved black circular drive near the ranch house front door. Two middle-aged women hurried forth to greet the guests. They were dressed in flowered print blouses and light brown cargo shorts.

The first opened the door for Lois, the second, for Clark. Symone shut off the truck and smoothly glided out onto the damp pavement. “Hello Mr. Kent, Miss Lane.” The first hostess said in a very bubbly tone.

She had a nice tan, curled blonde hair, and an average figure. They all shook hands. The second hostess volunteered to help Lois with her equipment. She’d brought along a digital camera, laptop, and steno pad.

Lois declined, thanking her. She appeared to be of Caribbean descent, with a dark slick tan, and Afro-Caribbean facial features. “Hey mon, welcome to Worthington Ranch. This way please.” She said cheerfully.

Lois began to follow, as Clark thanked Symone, who edged away. He spun around and quickly x-rayed Symone with his superior vision. She indeed was an AI. Clark spotted circuits, gears, chips, wires, valves, and metal alloy bone structure within her nearly perfect frame. He zoomed his focus out, ashamedly x-raying her skin.

Symone’s skin was consistent throughout, without any visible imperfections in color, tone, or topography. Warning: Infrared detection program has verified a radiation increase by seven point three percent.

The alert went off in Symone’s central processor unit. She turned to face Clark. “Something else I can help you with, Clark?” Symone’s tone was frosty, considering that she was an AI.

He shook his head, afraid that the high tech girl was on to him. “Smallville, let’s go!” Lois hissed from up ahead. “You’re worse than a kid in a candy store.” He reluctantly followed her in. Symone went on her way, muttering “subject Kent should be approached with caution, presence of unknown gene mutation.” She warned her controller.

Trish had been monitoring the exchange between the AI and their guests the whole time. “Understood Symone, return to base.” The AI shifted into hyper speed and sped out towards the western edge of the property.

Symone slowed to a stop, pressing the button on a common looking medium sized building’s entrance way. The stucco painted door slid silently open as she crossed the threshold, and was gone.

next up: Frontier

[Chlollie]

ppms

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions - Frontier

Frontier 8.0

Scene: Marcus Worthington's private jet over Metropolis.

Meanwhile, Marcus Worthington and Zara Rolfe had landed the WorthingtonCo private jet at Metropolis International Airport, deplaned, located the S-31, and stopped off at StarCross Coffee Shop. “I don’t believe I’ve ever been bloody here before.” Zara commented with typical British wit.

“It’s the second largest city in the Midwest, and a stronghold of my arch rival, LuthorCorp.” Marcus informed her. “Queen Industries and WayneCo have also been making inroads into the Luthor kingdom. WorthingtonCo barely outbid LuthorCorp for the new space station project.”

They grabbed their coffees and headed back to the rental SUV. The large Navigator would be able to hold the S-31 which was made from a very light metal alloy. “So what’re we to do, Marcus? Simply walk up to the bloke’s house and say pardon me, do you have our highly advanced toy?”

Zara added cynically. “I mean he or she’ll look at you like you’re daft.” Marc nodded. “Yes, it is quite a conundrum. I’m hoping that the keeper of our stray toy is typically unsophisticated and would let her go for a substantial sum of hush money.” Zara slid behind the wheel.

“I guess some of the things I’ve done seem a bit wonkey to you as well.” Zara quipped. “You mean like the time you overpaid a sinister art dealer for a subsequently worthless piece of a Persian Soup bowl?” Marc needled her. “Not one of my finer moments to be sodding sure.” She replied.

“Archaeology is not that much of a flippin’ exact science.” Zara playfully defended. They drove out of Metropolis into Smallville and finally arrived at the Kent Farm. “She’s here.” Marc announced as he double checked the locator chip that he’d Lojaked into the S-31 Recon Droid.

Zara pulled up alongside the brown and yellow Kent farmhouse. The couple was unaware that a curious pair of eyes watched them from above. “This is it. It’s quaint.” Zara remarked as she followed Marc out of the SUV and up the wraparound front porch to the door.

“They’re going to think we’re a couple of bloody twits.” Zara protested. “Patience, Zara, my love.” Marc said as he rang the doorbell. They waited a few moments and knocked on the door and windows. No answer. “Now what the bloody hell can we do, steal it?” Zara grumbled.

“It’s actually our property, Zara, so all we’re doing is reclaiming it.” Marc pointed out. “Whoever brought it here is technically a thief as well.” Zara disagreed. “It’s not as if we put a flippin’ return address on the sodding thing. If found, please return our wicked gadget.”

A large shadow circled above their heads, landing silently on the grassy lawn.
“Can I help you?” A sweet young female voice asked from behind them. Zara whirled as Kara Kent stared questioningly at her.

“Wicked! Where the bloody hell did you come from?” Kara smiled and pointed towards the barn loft. “Over there.” Marc gave her a professional nod. “Are you the resident of this property?” He inquired as Kara closed in on them.

“Yes. My aunt and cousin also live here. What is it you want again?” The teen alien glanced at Zara suspiciously. “Not to put too fine a point on it…Miss…?” Zara began. “Kent, Kara Kent.”

“Miss Kent, we have reason to believe that a piece of our inventory resides on your property.” Marcus said in a level tone. “Now, we won’t press charges if you’ll direct us to our unit and allow us to leave peacefully with it. No questions asked.”

Kara bristled, her eyes reddened.“What does this thing look like?” The alien beauty tested them. She’d seen the unusual object earlier this afternoon, but chose to ignore it. “It’s a large silver device, perfectly round, with a circumference of about three feet. It has no value to you. Let’s say the creation is unique.”

“Yeah ducky, it’s not as if you could fence the bloody thing at the local pawn shop.” Zara’s tone was tough. Clearly they had decided to play good cop bad cop with Kara. The Last Daughter of Krypton would not be intimidated. “You won’t mind if I check with my cousin first?” Kara toyed.

She pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Clark. He didn’t answer and the call went into his voice mail. Kara left a brief message. “Your names are…?” She grilled the strangers. “Marcus Worthington and Zara Rolfe.” He said as Kara repeated the names into the phone.

“I assume you can prove that this thing belongs to you?” Kara fished. “Yes.” Marc pulled out a remote control and a typewritten description of the S-31, showing them to Kara. “Seems legit.” She assessed. “Follow me.” Marc and Zara hesitated.

“What?” Kara inquired. “Uh…the device weighs quite a bit.” Marc mentioned. They had brought a small high tech WorthingtonCo lifter with them. Zara headed for the back of the SUV. The lift was self-powered and had the unusual ability of using gravity to unload itself out of the truck.

Kara grew impatient, and without thinking, went into the barn, uncovered the S-31, and carried it easily back out to them. Zara had her back turned, but Marc’s jaw dropped. “Miss Kent, please be careful with that. It’s an expensive device.” He added after his initial shock.

Marcus knew from the design specifications that the S-31 weighed nearly three hundred pounds. A young girl like Kara couldn’t weigh more than one hundred ten to one hundred twenty pounds. There was no way she should have been able to lift the S-31 let alone carry it to the SUV.

Marcus had read about the area surrounding Metropolis, and it had gained a reputation over the years of being the scene of many unusual or unexplained situations. Clearly there was more to this rural agricultural community than he’d realized.

Why had LuthorCorp adamantly claimed the area for its personal experimentation? He wondered silently as Kara impatiently spun the S-31 in circles. Kara hefted the S-31 onto her left shoulder like a beach ball. Marc’s eyes widened. “Let’s see that Bill of Goods again.” Kara requested.

He complied as she checked the company name and model number against the notations on the machine. “S-31, eh? What’s it do?” Kara handed him the paper. “I’m afraid that’s classified, Miss Kent.” Marc responded smoothly. “Let’s just say that it’s the next generation of photo reconnaissance.”

Zara turned from the SUV and gasped, nearly dropping the remote for the techno-lift. “My sainted father’s moustache!” She exclaimed. Kara cocked her head, allowing her long golden locks to drape across her shoulder.

She glanced at Zara with confusion. “May we have the S-31?” Marc asked in a level tone. “Oh! Sure!” Kara walked over to the SUV, sidestepped the techno-lift and placed the S-31 in the SUV carefully.

Zara gawked as the weight of the S-31 caused the SUV’s cargo area to lower slightly. Kara rubbed her hands together and smiled. “Is there like a reward or finder’s fee for it?” She quipped. Zara was about to protest, when Marcus waved her silent.

“How much would you like?” “A hundred bucks?” Kara chuckled. Marcus wrote out a check against WorthingtonCo for the money immediately, handing it to her. “Thank you.” The young alien girl grinned. “Wow! I get to eat free all week!” She joked, asking. “One more question, how did the thing get on our property in the first place?”

Marc shrugged. “It must’ve been a guidance system failure.” “Would you like to come in for coffee?” Kara invited politely. Marcus was very tempted to investigate the bubbly teen further, yet time was of the essence. Kent? He thought silently. Wasn’t one of the Daily Planet reporters he was to meet with named Kent? “Uh, no thank you.”

“Miss Kent, what’re your relatives’ names again?” Marc pried. “My Aunt is Senator Martha Kent, and my cousin is named Clark, why?” Kara became suspicious. “Um…Marcus is just a wee bit nosy, Miss Kent. We really need to get going. Thanks for returning the S-31.” Zara urged.

“No prob.” Kara said cheerfully. “I hope it still works after being shut up in that musty old barn.” Marcus thanked Kara again and he and Zara drove off towards Metropolis. “Marc, what the bloody hell have we gotten ourselves into, here?” She asked.

“I’m not sure, but we’ll have to keep investigating the Kents, Smallville, Metropolis, and what LuthorCorp has been up to around here.”

continues in ch 8.1

[Chlollie]

ppms

[gardy1]

Beyond Smallville: Evolutions - Frontier

Frontier - 8.1

scene: Marcus Worthington's Ranch estate in Arizona

Lois and Clark followed their guides into an open air courtyard within the Worthington Ranch compound. Mists sprayed down from above them, adding humidity to the parched desert air, and helped to cool the observers. Prairie dogs, roadrunners, and jackrabbits scampered away.

Above them was a type of greenish brown netting that allowed filtered sunlight through. Lois was reminded of the Army’s desert camouflage covers that she’d seen while touring Kuwait with her father, during the first Gulf War. The nets helped cool the area and kept a good portion of the dusty desert sand away from the equipment. Immediately, warning bells went off in Lois’s head.

“Stay sharp, Smallville.” She warned. “This looks suspiciously like a military compound, albeit a fancy one.” He nodded, quickly checking the area for Symone. She’d made a fast getaway, and Clark hoped that the AI Unit didn’t possess too many super powers.

“I am Moira.” The darkest skinned hostess began, “And this is Riley McClellan.” She introduced her co-hostess. “Worthington Ranch was built in the late 1940’s.” Riley launched into her well rehearsed spiel. “This post WWII structure was originally designed as a bomb shelter.”

“The Worthington family has been in America since the 1890’s.” Moira contributed as they guided their guests below the stone archway, which served as the entrance marker to a gravely access walkway. “William and Julia Worthington emigrated to the U.S. from Great Britain in 1898.”

“19 year old Julia was pregnant with her first child, whom they later named Cyrus, after the inventor, Cyrus McCormick. The Worthingtons lived in California’s Wild West until Julia died of natural causes in 1950. Her husband Will died a year later.” Moira concluded.

“Cyrus took over the family business, mostly investments in new inventions, and ran it throughout the war years.” Riley chipped in. “He met Helena Sturgard during WWII, and they married in 1951. Cyrus and Helena converted the bomb shelter into a ranch compound by 1948.”

Lois was furiously taking notes to use as background for their story. “In 1952 the Worthingtons had a child, a miracle of sorts, because Helena was thought to be unable to bear children.” Moira filled in as they advanced up the slight incline of the walkway.

Clark gulped, because he could immediately relate to what Helena and Cyrus had likely gone through. “They named their boy, Paul William. He took over the family’s quickly growing businesses in 1975. WorthingtonCo was now an international company. They experimented with the first multiprocessing super computers, which were roughly the size of a good living room.”

Riley added to the background: “Right here, in Northern Arizona, Paul had discovered a new power source. They hadn’t named it yet. It was based on geothermal technology, yet had its own unique properties.” Clark swallowed hard, unable to keep the fear and dread out of his mind.

“You mean like a hot spring beneath the desert?” Lois guessed, in full journalism mode. “Yes and no.” Moira answered evasively as they led the reporters toward a garden of sorts. “In 1976, Paul married Victoria Swann, and in 1977, Marcus Steven was born.”

Clark nearly jumped. Lois stared at him like he’d grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. “What’s up, Smallville? You need to cut back on your caffeine intake.” She quipped, as he ignored her. “Swann, as in Dr. Virgil Swann?” He gasped.

Moira and Riley both nodded. “Yes, you knew Dr. Swann? He’s passed on, you know, mon.” Moira added. Clark frowned. “I met Dr. Swann briefly in New York.” Lois folded her arms. This just gets better… She mentally grumbled. “You are indeed fortunate, Clark. Dr. Swann was a recluse. Very few people spoke to him in person near the end.”

Riley silenced, as if weighing what next to say. “In 2002, Paul and Victoria were killed in a plane crash over the Andes Mountains.” Moira continued her story. “At the ripe old age of 25, young Marcus became the sole heir to the Worthington legacy, an instant billionaire.”

“Now why couldn’t that happen to me?” Lois quipped. “Lois, what would you do with all that money?” Clark teased. “I’m sure that I’d think of something.” She countered. Riley and Moira led them past a large decorative fountain at the courtyard’s center.

“This fountain is an exact replica of one that sits in a Milan, Italy town square.” Riley added. “The fountain is made from Italian porcelain, and each square was hand painted.”

“Nice.” Lois admired the seven foot high layered fountain rimmed on all sides by bizarre looking gargoyles which varied in style and height. The edge of the fountain pool furthest from them marked a pathway leading towards another archway.

This one was decorated with Japanese symbols.“The Japanese Garden is painstakingly maintained by a crew of four.” Riley announced. “Follow me.” They walked leisurely beneath the archway, and immediately the humidity hit them. “Whoa, bad hair day coming up.” Lois remarked, as she trailed Clark and the guides.

The well manicured garden was fairly large, with a number of native Japanese plants, and fanciful decorations, including a full array of brightly colored lanterns. Again, Lois wondered how they could keep up the garden’s appearance in the middle of an arid desert.

“This structure depicts the eternal battle of good versus evil, the Yin and the Yang, of humanity.” Moira pointed out the large sculpture, placed at eye level. Waterfalls gently rolled over the smooth rock outcropping, and filtered throughout the garden. “It’s beautiful!” Lois remarked.

They wound their way through the preliminary garden which led to a separate display a bit higher up. The pathway the guides took them on elevated slightly every so often. Lois glanced upward, and spied a large multicolored building atop the bluff’s ridge.

“I take it that the mini-castle up there is the Worthington main residence.” Lois gestured to the mostly bluish gray stone building roughly eight stories above the desert floor. The visitor pathway led in a circular pattern around the bluff, finally ending at the main access road to the mansion.

“Yes, that is one of Mr. Worthington’s residences.” Riley confirmed. “As you might expect, the Worthington family has several homes across the world.” Lois nodded. “Uh huh.” Clark had been silent for a long time, trying to determine how much Worthington may know about Dr. Swann.

He dreaded the idea that Virgil Swann could have told his sister about Veritas and The Traveler. The next decorative garden featured a Persian theme. The ancient country now known as Iran, held much beauty beneath the militant, western hating, theocracy’s surface.

Fanciful Persian carpets lined the entrance wall, and at the display’s center was a large black obelisk suspended about six feet above ground. The onyx sculpture bore no unusual markings, Clark observed.

Moira stopped along the circuitous path around the obelisk, waiting for the others to catch up. “This sculpture represents the soul of Mohammed, eternally suspended between heaven and Earth, never reaching Allah, but above all peoples.” She explained. Lois nodded politely, but was growing restless.

Riley took the lead next, and they followed the walkway through the Persian garden, and around toward the back of the bluff. Lois noted a definite temperature difference. These gardens were heavily shaded at this time of day. The first display they came across had a Greek theme.

The elevation was slightly higher here, about two stories above the desert floor. Giant Cypress trees, Palm trees, and the more native cactus gardens lined the walkway. Again, the path circled around a moderately sized centerpiece, a model of the Parthenon, roughly eight feet high by ten feet long.

Riley pointed out the statuary. Representations of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Artemis, the goddess of fertility and the hunt, Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, were placed at the four corners of the garden.

The six foot statues all faced the Parthenon centerpiece. As impressive as all this was, it still didn’t get them any closer to meeting Marcus Worthington, Clark silently mused. Riley expanded on the Greek Garden concepts, and after a few moments, led them upward to the next display. Lois had pulled off her high heels, and carefully walked barefoot.

The next garden had a definitive Romanesque theme. It’s centerpiece, of course, was the famed Roman Colosseum. The eight by ten model had been painstakingly built, even showing the damage incurred by the various wars Rome fought, the society finally falling before Emperor Constantine.

It had similar statuary, Mars, the god of war, Venus, the goddess of love, with arms in this case, and Diana, goddess of the hunt and fertility. Clark examined the Diana statue closely. For some reason, he’d keyed on her above all else. Lois had given up walking, and sat beside the Venus statue.

Riley took the hint, and kept her explanations to a minimum, moving everyone along. Finally they entered the last two gardens, now a good five stories above the desert floor. The nearest was an Egyptian theme garden. Its centerpiece was a nine by seven replica of the Sphinx.

The Egyptian god statues lined the walkway as it twisted higher. Amun Ra the Sun God, Bastet, the Cat Goddess, Osiris, the jackal, and Isis the huntress, had all been beautifully hand painted. A six by eight replica of the Pyramid of Giza marked the way out, between the very tropical looking plants.

Lois sighed with impatience as she broke down and held Clark’s hand as they entered the final garden display. This one seemed unfinished, in Clark’s opinion. The decor seemed partially Roman, and partially Greek in theme. Hadn’t they just gone through all that? He wondered silently.

Riley and Moira stopped at the under construction garden’s center. “Okay, I don’t get the theme here.” Lois tiredly commented. “We wouldn’t expect you to.” Riley smiled. “This is Atlantis.” Clark and Lois gasped. “Atlantis?” She echoed. Clark noted the mysterious sea creature replica to his left.

"Mr. Worthington firmly believes that he has, and will discover Atlantis.” Moira said, purposely deepening her voice to sound mysterious. Lois immediately dismissed the idea, choosing instead to believe that Worthington was a bit eccentric.

He could certainly afford to be. She thought cynically. Clark wasn’t so sure. After all Arthur Curry, Aquaman, had to come from somewhere... Did Worthington find the lost continent of Atlantis, or was it just wishful thinking? He wondered.

The Atlantis garden was the final walkthrough before they reached the bluff’s plateau. “Here is Mr. Worthington’s residence.” Riley pointed out. Lois replaced her shoes, briefly leaning on Clark. The guides led them up the last path towards the mansion entrance. “Uh...is there some place we can freshen up?” Lois asked, glancing at Clark.

Translation: We need to talk. Clark considered. “Certainly, Miss Lane.” Riley said politely. In a matter of seconds, a new, younger woman showed up. Neither Clark nor Lois had seen where she came from. “This is Courtney Collins, of Employee Relations and Guest Facilities.” Moira introduced them.

coming up - 8.2

[Chlollie]

ppms

[gardy1]

Frontiers - 8.2

“It was nice meeting you both.” Riley said as the guides left. Courtney was about their age, in her early twenties, and bore a slight resemblance to Kara. She had long blonde hair tucked neatly in a ponytail, and wore the same red halter top, flowered shirt, and beige cargo shorts that the others had on.

“Hello.” Courtney greeted them with a typical bubbly smile. She produced two small packets of information for the visitors. Each included a map of the facility with red ‘x’s marked in areas that guests weren’t permitted to enter, an electronic pass key, and a CD Rom info disc.

“Thank you.” Clark said courteously as he listened for Courtney’s heartbeat. Human, that’s a good start, he thought. “Listen, Miss Collins...” Lois began in an even tone. “We enjoyed the lengthy tour of the theme gardens, but to be honest, I think we’re being stonewalled here.” Clark rolled his eyes.

Instead of a denial, Courtney admitted the truth. “Yes, well unfortunately Mr. Worthington and Miss Rolfe were called away on urgent business. They planned to be back before the interview, yet now they should be returning later tonight. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Courtney had a polished tone to her voice, that bred sincerity, Lois observed. Suddenly, Clark received a text message from Kara. The musical ring tone distracted Lois from her thoughts. “It’s from Kara.” He explained. “What, was there a chicken coop raid?” She snapped and Clark ignored her barb.

Clark frowned as he read her story about the missing silver sphere. He texted back; ‘Worthington and Rolfe? R U sure?’ Kara confirmed his suspicions. The evidence against Worthington was piling up.

Clark reminded himself not to underestimate any opponent after the years of dealing with Lex. “Anyway,” Courtney continued. “The washrooms and lounge are just to the right of the central fountain in the domed foyer. Follow me please.” Clark angrily snapped off his cell phone, and Lois made a mental note to ask him about it later.

They trailed Courtney beneath another stone archway. Lois gasped. “Smallville, will you look at this place?” Clark was doing just that. The domed ceiling Courtney spoke of was a representation of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, though smaller in scope and limited to the area specifically above the foyer.

Courtney dutifully led them to the washrooms and lounge. “Can I get you something from the bar?” She inquired. “Bar?” Lois’s eyes lit up. “You have a bar in here, too?”

“Actually, three of them.” Courtney stated. “The nearest one is the Tiki Bar next to the Olympic sized swimming pool across from the Caribbean Room.” Lois gawked, as Clark thought it was a good way to rid themselves of Courtney.

“Sure. I’ll have an iced tea. Lois?” Clark asked cordially. “Um...how much is a Malibu Breeze?” Lois ventured warily. Courtney smiled. “All drinks are complimentary, up until a certain point.” She qualified. “Great. I’ll have that.” Lois said.

“Anything to eat?” Courtney offered. “Is the food...?” Lois began before Courtney cut her off. “Complimentary.” The hostess replied. “I take it Mr. Worthington won’t be joining us for supper?” Clark pressed. Suddenly, Courtney seemed distant, unresponsive.

Clark heard a murmur, and focused his hearing on their young concierge. She had a minuscule earpiece, about the size of a diamond studded earring, in one earlobe. “Mr. Worthington is en route to base as we speak.” The voice on the other end was saying.

“He ought to be landing on the helicopter pad by 9:30 PM.” Courtney returned her attention to them. “No, I’m afraid Mr. Worthington won’t be available until around 10 PM.”
“Good enough.” Lois remarked. “Can I get a club sandwich with extra mayo?” Courtney nodded. “And for you, Mr. Kent?” He nodded.

“The same. Thank you.” Their concierge left promptly. Lois and Clark exchanged glances. “For someone who doesn’t get a lot of visitors, Worthington’s got this place running like a well oiled machine.” She commented. “What do you think, Smallville?”

“I think that there’s a lot more going on here, than an eccentric billionaire coming out of his shell to grant an interview.” Clark sidestepped saying what he was already thinking: Worthington was likely mixed up with Veritas and the Traveler. He’d been the one that originally approached Perry White.

Out of all of the newspapers and interviewers in the world, why had Worthington picked the Daily Planet, and specifically Lois Lane? Clark wondered silently. “Okay what do we know about our wealthy, eccentric host?” Lois recapped. “WorthingtonCo, as far as we know, has kept it’s nose clean.”

“WorthingtonCo won a slick, shared contract with WayneCo, and subcontracted out to Queen Industries.” Lois recalled. “Worthington himself isn’t really running the business. He’s been jet setting across the globe with his main squeeze, Archaeologist Zara Rolfe.”

“He’s looking for something.” Clark’s eyes narrowed as he weighed how much to share with Lois. “We’re all looking for something...” Lois countered. “No, I mean Worthington is looking for something specific.” He added. “Okay, I’ll bite. What would an eccentric billionaire want that he doesn’t already have? Or has access to get?”

Lois frowned as she paced the length of the lounge.“Chloe’s discs!” Clark snapped his fingers, causing a minor shockwave in the air.. “Huh? My errant cousin sent him two discs worth of info, to save her butt.” Lois shrugged. “He might have been fascinated with the meteor freak stories. I mean you saw his weird art collection.”

“Worthington could just be a bored billionaire with too much time on his hands.” Lois offered. Clark washed his hands and happened to glance at the monogrammed towel. The Worthington logo! He observed. The company’s traditional blue and gold ‘WC’ was everywhere, including imprinted on the silver sphere that Kara had naively given back to its rightful owner.

“Worthington is testing advanced technology!” Clark told Lois excitedly. “Okay. What orifice did you pull that one out of, Smallville?” Lois was skeptical. “My guess is that WorthingtonCo is researching, developing, and testing new technology.” Clark defended.

“I’ll buy that.” Lois rubbed her thin chin. “WorthingtonCo wouldn’t be on top of the big bucks pyramid if they didn’t keep up with the industrial Joneses. Why is Worthington prowling around ancient ruins with his babe? That would seem to be the opposite of where the company is going.”

Clark was afraid that he’d actually stumbled on the answer. The Wand of Fagan. He thought. It may very well be a piece of Kryptonian technology. All legends seem to have some basis in fact. Lois was staring at him. “Hello? Did your brainstorm dry up?” She taunted. “You know how I hate silences.”

Courtney had returned with their supper. “I’m sorry Mr. Worthington wasn’t available at the expected time. I’ve been assured that he and Miss Rolfe will return before 10 PM.” Lois thanked her for the food and drinks.

“Miss Collins, how long have you worked for Mr. Worthington?” The young journalist began her grilling. “About three years. I applied after a received an undergraduate degree in Human Resources from MIT.” Courtney explained briefly. “Why does Mr. Worthington predominantly hire women?” Clark matched Lois’s interrogation tone.

“You’d have to ask him that.” Courtney shrugged. “I’ve heard that he doesn’t view women the same way he does men. In Mr. Worthington’s mind, men create an undue level of competitiveness. At least that’s what I believe.” Lois shook her head. “That doesn’t figure.” She put down her sandwich.

“I find it hard to believe that a twenty-first century billionaire would harbor such an ancient prejudice towards women. I mean, I’m sure that some of the women at the top of Worthington’s food chain are more than capable of running his business.” Lois added with an edge to her voice.

Here we go, Clark thought, rapidly changing the subject. “Do you know anything about Mr. Worthington’s unusual taste in art and garden decor? Especially that Atlantis garden, I mean really.” He scoffed.

Courtney would not be swayed. “Mr. Worthington believes that there’s more out there.” Lois jumped on Courtney’s cryptic remark. “More? Like what?” Courtney began to backpedal. “I don’t really know him that well. We’ve only spoken a few times since I’ve been hired. It seems to me that there is more out there. Mysteries, I guess. Each garden had a theme.”

“Yes, we saw all of them.” Lois said tiredly. Clark was mentally putting together a file on Mr. Worthington. Each garden’s theme was good versus evil, absolute power, meaning the power of the mythological gods, yet, how did that fit with his advanced technology?

If Clark were human, a chill would’ve run down his spine. The power of a god? He gulped loudly. “Hey, Smallville, take it easy on the sandwich, you’re going to choke yourself.” Lois brought him back to reality. Courtney soon excused herself. “Feel free to wander around the mansion.”

Lois nodded as she wiped her mouth. “You bet we will.” She said with determination. Clark glanced at his sentimental watch, the one given to him by Jonathan Kent. They had roughly two hours to investigate. Lois would drag him down, however. He could’ve sped through the whole place in seconds.He sighed in resignation. It was her story, after all.

They walked into the main section of the mansion, past the Olympic sized swimming pool, Tiki Bar, and Caribbean Room. They were all pretty, and very detailed, but didn’t offer any additional insight into Mr. Worthington.

Several women passed them by, in various states of dress, or undress. Two young women were clad in bikinis, heading for the pool. Three more had common lab coats on, and cast the visitors a curious glance. A few had the ubiquitous flowered blouses, red or blue halter tops, and cargo shorts on.

“God, Clark, I feel like I’ve just been sent into some type of psycho sorority house.” Lois complained as he smirked. “Now Lois, don’t let your imagination run away with you.” They wandered into a room across from the pool with a definite Greek theme.

There were colorful frescoes depicting the Greek Mythos. Clark identified the image of Sisyphus who was condemned by Hades to spend eternity pushing a boulder uphill, the image of Atlas, with the circular world perched atop his back, and one of the battle of Troy. Trojan horse and all.

He wasn’t sure why, but the sculpture of the beautiful Helena with her two soldier lovers poised to strike each other down with their swords, reminded him of Lois. “Again, these are pretty, but they’re not helping to get to the meat of the story.” Lois grumbled. Clark agreed. It was time for answers. Lois and Clark continued on through the house, admiring paintings, sculptures, and gardens.

Meanwhile, Zara and Marcus were on board the WorthingtonCo private jet. Marcus had checked over the S-31, and found no external damage. He was busily investigating Chloe’s informational DVDs.

Zara slept peacefully by his side on a comfortable plush couch. Marcus put on his reading glasses as he read the laptop screen’s accounts of Smallville’s meteor freak population. All instances that Chloe recorded had ended in the mutant human’s destruction, memory lapses, or being institutionalized.

“By all the gods, what the hell’s been going on there?” He muttered rhetorically. One name kept coming up. Clark Kent. Another was Lex Luthor. Marcus bristled at seeing the bald young billionaire’s countenance. Marcus firmly believed that there was much more to this story.

They approached his private landing strip about thirty miles from the Worthington Ranch Estate. Mr. Kent has been immediately rushed up my priority list, he thought. As is Kara Kent. Marcus closed the laptop and removed his reading glasses.

He brushed back his short cropped black hair. The billionaire checked on Zara, and then began to pace the length of the jet’s cabin. In a few moments, he would be face to face with a new puzzle. Marcus loved puzzles, even seemingly insurmountable ones. This puzzle had a name: Clark Kent.

next ch. 9