A/N: I do not own anything Smallville or Marvel or DC comics. So don't sue, I don't have any money for you anyway.
Chapter 1/Fire
Clark Kent awoke feeling like he had forgotten something. Not knowing what it could be, he got up and went downstairs to breakfast. It appeared that his mom was still upstairs. He prepared himself a breakfast sandwich, but right before it entered his mouth, he heard the kitchen door open and shut and an annoyingly familiar voice chirping in his ear.
"Hey Smallville!"
Clark looked up from his sandwich. He frowned slightly at the girl who stood before him.
"Lois? What are you doing here?"
Lois Lane shrugged. "I came to see your mom." She caught sight of his meal.
"Is that an egg and cheese sandwich?" She asked.
Before Clark could respond, she plucked it out of his hand and into her mouth. "Wow," she mumbled around the bite, "this is really good." She swallowed. "I am so starving."
Clark frowned again. "Sure Lois, help yourself."
He stood and started to make another one. Lois quickly finished off the first and wiped her fingers on his napkin.
"Oh yeah," she continued, "also Chloe wants to talk to you. She's at the Planet. Something about a mysterious fire at the Luthor Mansion."
Clark did not hesitate. Forgetting his sandwich, he excused himself and exited the house. Once he was out of sight he supersped over to the Daily Planet.
Chloe Sullivan was at her desk when Clark came speeding in. She jumped and grabbed at her papers as they fluttered around in his breeze.
"Clark," she complained irritably, "you could at least call before running in like that."
"Lois said you wanted to tell me something."
Just then Jimmy Olsen came in carrying a bouquet of flowers. Chloe gasped in surprise and delight. She grabbed the photographer in a tight hug.
"Jimmy?" She cried. "What are you doing here? When did you get back?"
The boy shrugged. "I had been doing so well that when I asked for a day off for a special occasion, they said yes." He handed Chloe the flowers. "Happy Birthday, Chloe."
Chloe smiled and kissed her boyfriend. "Thank you, Jimmy."
Clark looked slightly confused. "It's your birthday Chloe?" That's what I forgot, he thought dismally.
Chloe laughed at the rueful expression on the farm boy's face. "It's okay, Clark," she said cheerfully. "We have more important things to do."
Jimmy looked offended. "Your birthday is important. You only get one once a year."
Chloe smiled at Jimmy. "That's sweet, but I'm on a mission here."
Jimmy suddenly nodded understandingly. "It's the Luthor fire, isn't it?"
Clark put out a hand. "Wait, you knew about this?"
"It's all over the news, Clark. It happened just last night."
"Was anyone hurt?" Clark worried about Lana.
Chloe set down her flowers and sat at her computer. "Don't worry Clark, Lana's fine. The fire was started in Lex's room, but he wasn't there. They're calling it an electric malfunction."
"Is that what happened?"
Chloe typed furiously. "Well, none of the security tapes showed anyone inside the room. One minute it's all clear, the next everything's on fire."
She turned the computer monitor so Jimmy and Clark could see. She had hacked into the Luthor Mansion security footage. The screen showed Lex's room. As Clark and the others watched, a stream of fire flew through the open window and set the room on fire. Clark started.
"Play that again."
Chloe glanced at him but played it again. Clark held out a hand.
"Pause right there."
The screen froze. Chloe looked intently at the picture. Suddenly she gasped. Zooming in she noticed something on the left corner of the screen. It showed the stream of fire coming into the room, but there was a spot of darkness behind it. In that darkness was the thing Chloe pointed at.
"It's a boy!" Jimmy said, surprised.
Chloe nodded. "That's not all. The fire is coming from his hands."
