Chapter One
Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you've been raised as a human, you are not one of them. You have great powers, only some of which you have as yet discovered.
"Don't move," he'd said.
He'd told her to wait and she did, anticipating his return. But the fifteen minutes it should have taken him turned into an hour.
Around the fourth hour, Chloe finally moved.
She brought her knees up to her chest and her arms around her knees and cried as if she'd lost her best friend. In truth, she had. He'd left her again. He always left her. She wondered what for this time. But it didn't matter. The point was he'd left after promising her... nothing really. A lot of blather about how they would drive each other crazy, grinning goofily all the time. But it had felt as if he was finally seeing her.
And then he never came back. It was a long time to be getting bagels. She didn't know whether to be worried or angry. She was both when her phone rang.
"Yeah?"
"Chloe, it's me,"Lois said quickly, then paused for a really long time. It was rare for her. "Is something wrong?"
"No," she lied. "Just slept late."
"Well, it's only nine, so don't beat yourself up."
She tried to laugh. "What's up?" She also tried to sound casual.
"Listen, I know you needed this break. But I think it's time to come home. It's been two months and you're still so miserable. You could get back to work."
"I have work here, Lois."
"Really? The work you won't tell me about?"
Chloe sighed. How could she tell Lois she was working remotely with Oliver Queen? She was hardly over him.
"Well, you can do it here," Lois went on when Chloe didn't answer.
"I doubt it." How could she bring Lex Luthor down in a town he pretty much controlled and monitored. "I need to be here." She really couldn't dredge up a better argument. Her heart was splitting in two. Five hours now. Don't move.
"You know what? I don't care what you need," Lois snapped. "I miss you. Your father misses you. Lucy's visiting soon and you haven't seen her in years. Who knows? Maybe Daddy Dearest will deign to have dinner with us."
Chloe doubted it. General Sam Lane was not known for being sociable. "Lois, just give me some more..."
"No. I'm coming as soon as I can and I will take you with me conscious or not. So stop wallowing and pack."
Lois hung up before she could protest. She wasn't ready to go back. She'd nearly found the location of the 33.1 facility. Her source had pointed her to Bangor. She had to focus on that. If she went away from her work, she'd focus on other things.
Like last night. And this morning. And how he hadn't come back.
The phone rang again and she was ready to tell Lois everything. Like why she had to stay and why her coming for her was just a bad idea. But it wasn't Lois.
"You're not safe where you are," the raspy voice said before hanging up.
It was the source. He'd never steered her wrong before. She'd go.
*********************************
She let Lois shove her in the passenger side, though she wasn't protesting at all. Lois had been surprised to see her packed and ready. Chloe supposed she didn't want to jinx it and had continued with her tough love approach. She only seemed to relax when they hit the freeway.
"I'm so glad you're coming back." Lois beamed. "You'll see. You'll be your old self again."
"Uh-huh."
"Don't be so gloomy. I got my Warrant CD. Extended 'Cherry Pie' Remix."
"Yes. Very tempting," Chloe muttered.
"You'll see. We'll have so much fun just like before."
She couldn't share Lois' enthusiasm. She suspected Lois's reasons for bringing her back were more selfish than not. Lois was a tad abrasive. She had a hard time making friends. She'd latched on to Chloe like a life raft these last three years. Chloe was a little sick of everyone depending on her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked Lois quietly.
"Tell you what?" Lois was still smiling.
"About Clark."
Lois' smile fell. "But I... I thought you didn't want to know."
"I think I would have wanted to know that he'd been looking for me for months."
"What? Chloe, you said, and I quote, 'I don't ever want to hear the name Clark Kent again.' I kind of took you at your word."
"Yes, but that was when I thought he was..." She couldn't tell Lois she'd thought Clark was running away with Lana Lang. She and Clark were the only ones who knew Lana was alive.
"What?" Lois prodded.
"Nothing. Never mind." But she wished she'd known. She'd never have left. They would have time together before he... What? Suddenly left her in the middle of a bagel run? "You're right," she said finally. "I'd be better off never hearing his name again."
**********************************
He wasn't in Smallville. His house was left messy, as if he'd gone in a hurry. She could think of another place he'd be: Florida. Maybe one night with her without the facade of Kal had sent him away to Lana. She'd thought he was opening up to her. To them. Maybe she was wrong.
**********************************
"Chloe, what's The Underground?"
Chloe's eyes widened, but she continued typing. "Have you been going through my stuff?"
Lois sat across from her at the table. "Of course not. I just happened to see..."
"While you were going through my stuff."
"Okay. Fine." Chloe didn't look, but she could tell Lois was pouting. "I just wanted to know why."
"Why what?"
"Why you're miserable and always looking behind you and have been holed up in the apartment for days."
Chloe could have answered those questions with two names: Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. One broke her heart and left. The other was all too near. He was almost definitely having her followed. Lois didn't need to know about any of it. She decided to answer the first question instead. "The Underground is a publication I write for."
"And?"
"That's it."
Lois shut Chloe's laptop and leaned on it. "That can't be it. There's too many things you're not telling me."
Chloe folded her hands in her lap and looked up at her. "And maybe I have my reasons," she said calmly.
Lois stared at her for a long moment before moving away. "Fine. I mean, I'd say I'm here to help, but you obviously don't need it."
*************************************
Tuesday was a day of special deliveries. There was a note on the door of The Talon apartment that a package was at the post office for her. She'd had to resist the urge to call the bomb squad, thinking Lex had finally had enough of her. She'd seen him around town. He always smiled at her, but with a warning in his eyes. She'd been surprised to find a cell phone. "Untraceable- O.Q." was all the note said. She knew who it was from and was grateful. She was becoming afraid to contact the guys in Star City while in Smallville.
At her father's, there was a letter. "305-421-7725. 8 pm." Nothing else. She knew who that one was from as well. The Source. But he must be getting rusty if he didn't know she was staying at The Talon.
She stuffed it in her pocket and sat on the couch with her father. "Good game?"
He grunted. "Shark's are losing, so no."
She sighed as he continued to stare at the game. "I'm sorry I haven't called, Dad. I've been busy."
"Busy doing what?" He tore his gaze away from the TV. "You quit your dream job for no apparent reason. You dumped that nice guy..."
"Dad, I'm just going through something right now. It's complicated."
"All right, then." He turned back to the TV again. "Though I'd take a close look at where your life is going."
******************************
"Where are you going?" Lois asked.
"Just to the bathroom."
Lois glanced at her coldly. "With your new phone?"
Chloe glanced at the clock. It was a minute after eight. She had to make this call. "I..."
"Never mind. Don't answer me. I'm used to it."
Chloe felt guilty, leaving Lois in the dark. But things were coming to a head. She knew they'd nail 33.1 and, if not connect it to Lex, destroy it and release those held there. She took the paper from her pocket and dialed. The voice that picked up wasn't the dry rasp she expected.
"Yes? Hello?" It was soft and feminine.
"Lana?"
"Chloe, hi... didn't you know it was me?"
She hadn't. And she was disappointed. She'd wanted The Source. She'd wanted information, not confirmation of what she feared to be true. That Clark was with Lana in Florida. "I thought you were someone else."
Lana laughed nervously. "No. Just me. I was just... wondering how you were. I know that we left things kinda weirdly."
"You could say that. How are you?" She wanted to ask if he was there, but she was afraid to know.
"I'm okay. I... I guess I'm a little lonely, but fine."
Lonely. "I'm sorry to hear that. Have you found a job? Maybe you could meet some new friends." She felt so nearly elated. It was the first feeling of the kind since he'd left her.
"I'm looking, but nothing really sparks me. You know?" Lana paused. "So how's Clark?"
"I don't know. He left."
"He left? Where did he go?"
"Couldn't tell you. He just vanished."
"But he said he couldn't leave Smallville. He said he had work to do. And I thought you and he were..."
"No," Chloe cut in. "We aren't."
"Oh. Okay. Well, I gotta go. It was great catching up, but..."
She didn't listen to the rest. Just let Lana hang up since Lana obviously had the only information she wanted. She hadn't seemed too worried about where Clark was. Maybe it just soothed her to kow he wasn't with Chloe, that Lana's place in his unrequited heart was still hers. She suspected that her friendship with the late Lana Lang was officially over.
And Chloe was worried. Because, if Clark wasn't with Lana, where was he?
Chapter Two
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