A/N: Okay guys, I'm trying something new so please bear with me. Although Smallville is my first love, I am also a fan of the Lois & Clark series that came out in 1993. I simply adore both of them but there are certain aspects of each that I like better than the other, if you know what I mean. So I am going to combine them both, taking what I like best from both worlds and see what I can get. This is going to be a re-write of one of my favorite episodes, "That Old Gang Of Mine" from Lois & Clark, with Smallville characters and is a tribute to my love of the Roaring 20s. Please Note: in this story Jonathan Kent will still be alive; Clark has been Superman for quite some time, works at the Daily Planet, and is partnered with Lois; Perry is the Editor-n-Chief; and Jimmy Olsen is NOT the same age as Clark and Chloe. There will also be no Lana and no Lex.

Disclaimer: Smallville and its characters are copyright ©2006 Warner Bros. & DC Comics. Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. TM and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 2006. This disclaimer goes for all chapters.

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Losing A Friend

Summary: While uncovering the plot of a scientist trying to resurrect historical criminals, Clark is shot and has to fake his death in order to protect his secret.

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THE CLUB ON HOBBS STREET

Clark eyed Lois as he followed at her heels, pushing through the crowded club. She had that look in her eye, the one that said there was a story here and she wasn't leaving until she found it.

They had snuck into the illegal gambling club on Hobbs Street, where their source, Bobby Bigmouth, had said that something would be "going down" tonight. Bobby had said that Capone's thugs had been leaning pretty heavily on Georgie Hairdo, the current owner of the club. Lois and Clark were there to try to get more information on Capone and his reincarnated hooligans.

So far, the only information they had was the background check they'd done on the reclusive scientist, Dr. Hamilton. Hamilton was suspected to be the source of it all. He was knee deep in DNA modification and believed he could reconstruct DNA and short-circuit aggressive behavior in humans. He hoped to eliminate all anti-social impulses in man, in essence, creating the perfect being. Criminals, for instance, would have been the perfect specimens to experiment on.

If Hamilton had actually managed to clone the historic criminals, something in his work had to have failed, because reports were going up all over the city that "gangsters" were committing crimes from petty robbery to grand theft auto.

After the bank heist Superman had stopped, the police had an I.D. for at least three famous, and not to mention dead, criminals; fingerprints perfectly matching those of the original John Dillinger, Clyde Barrow, and Bonnie Parker.

Police were stumped.

The leader had already made an appearance at The Daily Planet. Jimmy said that he had tried to bribe Perry, and before that, the mayor. It was only a matter of time before the old gangster figured out today's society and what he could and could not do.

Clark's thoughts were interrupted when suddenly the room exploded in gunfire. Instinctively, he lunged for Lois, wrapping his arms protectively around her. He didn't need his x-ray vision to see the men with guns filing into the room.

Had they not been real, standing before them in the flesh, Clark might have laughed. Straight out of the Roaring 20s, the men wore pinstripe suits and fedoras, several of them sporting old-style Tommy guns.

"My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, for this little interruption," came a thick, Italian voice. The crowd of gangsters parted for an older man, dressed to the hilt in a pinstripe suit and tie and smiling smugly. Clark knew immediately who he was by the scar that marked his face.

Al Capone, in the flesh once again.

"I just dropped by to inform you that Georgie Hairdo has wisely decided to retire from the hospitality business," he continued. "So from this day forward, this joint is owned by Al Capone."

"Is he serious?" Lois whispered. Gangster or no, people didn't just go around killing their competition and bragging about it. Well, at least out loud. There were too many risks getting caught. Either this guy was overly confident or just plain stupid. Or from another era completely, she thought.

Dillinger, a criminal Clark recognized from some of the old news clippings he and Chloe had poured through, stepped out from behind Capone and eyed Lois.

Clark stiffened. He didn't like the way Dillinger was staring at her.

Dillinger reached out a hand and caressed the bare skin above Lois's neckline. Lois flinched, but he didn't stop. "Maybe we can make this little cutie our head hostess," he said, smiling strangely. "I was always partial to a lady in red."

"Leave her alone," Clark said firmly, moving so that his body separated Lois from Dillinger. He pushed the gangster's eager hand away from her.

Dillinger glared at him. It was apparent that the gangster wasn't used to people standing up to him. "Who 'aw you, her big brutha?" he fired back at him, angrily giving Clark a shove that sent him staggering backwards.

Regaining his balance, Clark retaliated, lunging at Dillinger, his only thought to keep the gangster away from Lois.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lois saw Clyde raise his handgun. Before she could warn Clark, or even try to shove him out of the way, Clyde squeezed the trigger.

The bullets hit their mark. Clark froze in mid-step, a look of shock painting his features. Then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and suddenly he wasn't holding himself up anymore. Lois rushed forward to catch him, grabbing him by the shoulders. He fell backward onto the floor, his weight pulling them both down. Three simmering bullet wounds showed through his punctured suit.

For a moment, Lois lost everything – her thoughts, her breath, her heartbeat. Then she found it all again…and whimpered, "Clark…Noooooo!!"

Her moist brown eyes gleaming like gemstones, Lois ran her hand through his dark hair. This isn't happening! This can't be real!

He wasn't breathing. All danger forgotten, she stared in abject horror at her partner's lifeless body.

He was protecting me…

For one heartbreaking instant, she touched his face, his lips; his skin was still warm.

No! Lois thought in despair. He can't be dead! He just can't! Somehow, she felt her only hope of love and happiness dying with him.

Her unconcealed sorrow went unnoticed by Capone. "You moron," he spat at Clyde, "Wha'd ya do that for? Now we gotta get outta here."

Capone turned to his gang and motioned to one of the younger men. "Joey, pick up the stiff. I can't be linked to a murder," he said casually.

Joey handed his Tommy gun to Bonnie, who took it with an exasperated scowl.

"Nooo…" Lois wailed when another man pushed her aside.

Roughly, the two gangsters grabbed Clark by the arms and lifted him.

"No! No!" Lois cried when Clark was pulled from her. She reached for him, watching helplessly as her partner's body was dragged away.

She hated being helpless. Lois Lane wasn't helpless. Yet there she was, unable to do anything as the men drug Clark out the door, Clyde covering their escape.

"No…no…Clark…" she moaned.

The gangsters disappeared and Lois was alone. It didn't matter that she was in a room full of people. She was alone, now and forever, because her partner, her friend, had been stolen from her.

After what seemed like an eternity had passed, Lois felt gentle hands grasp her shoulder and she numbly looked up to find a strange woman bending over her. "They're gone," the woman said.

Yes…they were gone.

He was gone. Like that, he was gone.

"I'm so very sorry," the woman said. Her touch was comforting and Lois found herself falling into the embrace of the stranger.

The woman stroked her hair and allowed her to cry on her shoulder. When Lois had finally calmed, the woman said, "He risked his life for you. That was a very brave thing he did. Was he your husband?"

"No," Lois answered.

"Boyfriend?"

Lois shook her head.

"But you loved him."

Lois froze. Loved him?

"He loved you," she continued, as if reading the confused expression on Lois' face, "else he wouldn't have given his life for you."

Fresh tears surfaced. Yes…yes…she loved him. But she'd never told him.

He'd never know…

…ever.

Lois felt her shoulders shake and her body tremble as she cried long after the mobsters had gone. The strange woman stayed with her, but said nothing more. Her presence was comforting and in the strangest way, she reminded Lois of Clark. The chronic do-good attitude that always marked the man; even in the worst situations he was always concerned about others. Here was a woman who had no clue who Lois was, or what she was going through, but she offered of herself freely to comfort the pain of a stranger. It warmed Lois to think that there were more people like Clark in the world. If she'd have just slowed down long enough to realize it, not taken advantage of it.

He loved you, else he wouldn't have given his life for you.

The injustice of it all! How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn't she told him when she'd had the chance? She always assumed she'd have the chance later, always later. Now he was gone and he wasn't coming back. They never should have come; she never should have insisted that they follow the story. There were always risks in undercover reporting, but she should have known better…these were the most heinous criminals in human history!

Lois stared at the empty floor, where it seemed like only moments ago she'd seen her partner for the last time.

And for the first time in her life, she felt utterly lost and completely defeated.

What would she do now? Who would tell his parents? Who would tell Perry? And Jimmy? What about Chloe?

Lois covered her face with her hands. Soon the police would arrive, and when they did, she'd be questioned, just like every other time she witnessed a crime. But this time Lois wasn't just a witness, she was a victim.

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A/N:Also – I've gone back in to add this part b/c I've had a couple people mention that the way emotional Lois isn't realistic. Never fear my friends! This chapter is actually in the middle of the real story and I'm gonna expound on the independence and cunning wit of the intrepid reporter we all know and love leading up to this point. Just bear with me.