Author's Comment: My first attempt at a crossover. I haven't decided if it's going to end here or whether I might not add a chapter or two for the fun of it. I further cannot decide whether this is going to be Chlam or Chlean if I DO continue it. I guess we'll see. Anyway, enjoy!

"Come on, Ollie, pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Please don't make me call Clark," Chloe pleaded with her phone, knowing it was no use and that Oliver was in a business conference. He wouldn't see her missed calls for a few hours yet. She looked around her: an empty highway stretched for miles. With a frustrated sigh she sat down in the dirt, totally disregarding the cocktail dress she was wearing. She'd been walking down this road bare foot for hours (having ditched her stilettos long ago). She couldn't decide whether it was worth the embarrassment of calling Clark to come get her and carry her back to Metropolis.

It would help if she had the first clue where she was.

She was just deciding she should call Bart (he would love to come to her rescue and could probably be persuaded to keep the whole affair a secret) when she heard a car approaching. She glanced up to see a shiny black Impala kicking up dust as it headed toward her. Thank goodness. She stood, flagging the car down. Whoever was driving could at least tell her where she was.

The Impala slowed to a halt in front of her and the window rolled down, revealing two very attractive men around her age, one with dark brown hair and the other a sandy blonde. The dark haired one in the passenger seat was turned away from her and apparently hadn't realized the window was down yet.

"Dean I said no hitchhikers!"

"Oh please, she's just a poor, stranded, helpless girl, Sammy." Chloe bristled at being so underestimated.

" We both know you're only stopping 'cause she's hot. And Meg was just some stranded girl, too."

The one called Dean winced. "Good point. Too late now, though." He flashed a grin as Chloe leaned in the window, clearing her throat. "Where you headed, gorgeous?"

"Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled. "I don't need a ride just my bearings. I'm a bit lost."

The dark haired one, Sam, breathed a sigh of relief. "We're just north of Lawrence," he said.

"Lawrence, where?" Please say Kansas.

"Kansas," Dean frowned at her.

"Oh thank goodness."

"Just how lost are you, exactly?"

"That depends on how far I am from Smallville."

"Whereville?"

"Metropolis?" she tried hopefully.

Both pairs of eyebrows shot up in response. "It's a couple hours from here, and that's actually where we're headed. We can't just leave her here, man," he added to Sam.

"Oh yes we can." He turned to Chloe. "No offense, but I've had some lousy experiences with hitchhikers."

"No, I understand completely," she said hurriedly. "I've got someone coming to get me soon," she lied.

"Yeah right. You don't even know what state you're in. Look, it's cool; my brother and I are cops. You've got nothing to worry about." He unlocked the doors for her.

Chloe looked at them skeptically. "Cops, huh? Can I see some ID?"

Sam stifled a groan as Dean fumbled around for his wallet. "Here," he handed it to her.

Chloe smirked, holding up the ID and reading the name on it. "Wow. Dave Mustaine. What was it like being the lead guitarist for Metallica? I thought your name was Dean, anyway."

"Um..."

"I've got to give you props, though. Aside from the name, this is one of the best fakes I've ever seen. So what's your friend's name? Roger Townshend? 'cause you strike me as more of a The Who kind of guy," she grinned at them both, amused.

"My name is Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean," Sam said, heaving a sigh. Sorry about him. Can't help himself. I'm beginning to suspect he's a pathological liar."

"And you're on your way to Metropolis because?" she prompted.

"We're kind of on a road trip, and we heard a rumor about Metropolis that we wanted to check out."

"The rumor being?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Rather not say."

Chloe straightened up. "Fair enough. I like him," she added, smirking at Dean and indicating Sam. "He's not a liar. Which, by the way, I would have known anyway because your eyes darted to the left corner when you said you were cops. People always do that when they're lying."

"I like her. Can we keep her? Please, Sammy?" Dean pleaded, always curious about any female who could call him out on his BS.

Sam rubbed his forehead. "Yeah sure. Want a ride?" he offered.

Chloe bit her lip, considering it. They seemed harmless enough. She pulled out her phone to check the time. The battery died before her eyes. No choice now. "Yeah, all right, thanks. But first, may I ask why you wanted to pose as cops?"

"Has to do with that rumor we're checking out," Sam explained.

"The one that you won't tell me?" she said dubiously.

"That's the one," he nodded.

He thought for a moment and then rolled her eyes, climbing recklessly into the backseat. "I hope I don't regret this."

"Please, with company like this?" grinned Dean, revving the engine as she pulled a seatbelt on. "So how does a girl like you end up walking barefoot down the highway in formalwear, without a clue as to what state she's in?" He glanced back at her in the rear view.

"Honestly, it's a long story."

"It's a long drive," Sam pointed out, not a little curious himself.

"And what's your name by the way?"

"Tina Turner," Chloe smirked.

"That was the first name you thought of? Weak," said an amused Dean.

Chloe laughed. "It's Chloe, and my ending up out here is kind of one of the hazards of my job."

"What the heck do you do?" Sam asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain, really, but it occasionally throws me into dealings with some shady people. Hence being attacked, drugged and kidnapped," she added.

Dean looked over his shoulder to see if she was kidding, eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I'm serious," she laughed. "Serious as the grave."

"That is my least favorite expression," Sam muttered under his breath. "So does one dare ask how you got out of that situation and ended up out here?"

Dean looked at him. "Dare ask? Jeez, you sound like such a pansy since you went to college."

Sam only rolled his eyes and Chloe giggled. "Well, I'm not exactly an easy person to abduct. The fact that they managed at all is sort of impressive. I've had a lot of training in self-defense"--Thank you, Ollie.--"so by the time the drugs wore off..." she trailed off.

"Kickin' ass and takin' names. I like that in a girl," Dean grinned.

"Does he always flirt so over the top like this?" Chloe asked Sam pointedly.

"Always."

"You make it sound like I don't mean it," Dean said, pretending to be hurt.

Chloe watched the two in amusement. Yeah, they were definitely brothers. The sibling relationship was obvious in every drop of sarcasm.

"So now that I've explained myself as much as I'm technically allowed to," she interrupted their bickering after a while, "would you two mind explaining to me what exactly is bringing you to Metropolis?"

Sam shot Dean a look but Dean answered first. "Well, we're pretty interested in urban legends and junk like that. How they got started, you know? There's a lot of weird stuff happening in Metropolis over the last couple of years. Thought we'd go check it out."

"And that's what you've been doing on your road trip?"

"Something like that."

She could tell they weren't telling the whole truth, but she didn't press the matter. It wasn't as though she was being fully honest herself. She wondered vaguely whether their lives were half as complicated as hers. Doubtful, she thought ruefully. It didn't get much more complicated than keeping multiple secret identities straight, doing illegal computer hacking and other reconnaissance for a living, and looking after an entire team of superheroes on a daily basis. She let out a long slow breath. She was going to demand a day off after this one. And a foot massage. She rubbed her bare feet.

Dean looked back at her.

"So what's with the dress?"

"I had to make an appearance last night at a really huge social function. Someone was supposed to be there and I was trying to find him, but" she sighed, "I think his crones found me first."

"You are one weird chick."

"Dean, dude!" Sam admonished.

"He's got a point, you know," Chloe said humorously.

"Yeah, he's got a point," Dean repeated smugly to Sam.

"Can we ask who you were looking for?" Sam asked.

"Someone I thought was dead," Chloe said, thinking of Lex. Her face betrayed her disgust at the very thought of the man.

Dean and Sam exchanged significant glances, wide-eyed.

"Er...what do you mean, you thought he was dead?"

"Well," Chloe said, leaning back and closing her eyes, trying to decide how much was safe to tell them. "He was supposedly murdered a little over a year ago. Good riddance, really. He was so steeped in blood the world is a lot better off without him. But recently a lot of shady business dealings and--" she caught herself before saying 'murders' "--other stuff has been happening that's got his name written all over it. So either he's back or someone is following in his footsteps, either of which are less than impossible. Personally, I prefer an imitator if given the choice." She never wanted to set eyes on Lex Luthor again.

"So, when you say 'steeped in blood?' " Dean questioned, his attention having flared at that particular phrase.

"Like Richard the third."

"Who?"

"It's Shakespeare, Dean," Sam explained. Chloe opened her eyes to glance approvingly at him. "King Richard is a bloodier story than Macbeth. The guy murdered just about everyone in the royal family to become king."

"And he only wanted to be king to have something to amuse himself with," Chloe finished the story for him."

"Sounds like a charming guy," Dean said, the wheels in his head turning. He was starting to wonder if what he and Sam were looking for didn't have something to do with whomever Chloe was talking about.

"You have no idea."

"So what's this guy's name, just out of curiosity?"

"Luthor."

"As in the billionaire? Jeez, beautiful, you do run in a dangerous crowd, don't you?"

"You don't know the half of it," Chloe sighed.