Title: A Tangled Web
Author's Note: Okay, here is my attempt at the Season Five fic. I'm sort of limiting the action/fighting in this one. Frankly, I'm kind of sick of it. But you will get a story and plenty of obstacles for our young hero. This one's also different because, whereas the last story focused mostly on Chloe and Clark this one integrates just about everyone! Here goes…
Prologue
Clark sighed as he clucked another bale of hay. He tried to stifle a yawn; a reminder of the scarcity of sleep he was getting these days. It had been three days since life had returned to any sort of normality, as odd as life usually was for the alien boy. In truth, Clark felt scarred by what he had experienced in the Phantom Zone. He kept remembering the feeling of isolation and confinement in the recesses of space. He couldn't see or hear anything on the outside; he was left alone in the dark with his thoughts while the world went to hell in a hand basket.
Luckily, Jor-El had managed to free him from the Phantom Zone. Together they worked to take down the treacherous Zod. With Zod imprisoned again, Brainiac's power diminished and with it his hold on the world's computers. The major cities were still working to fully restore power and Clark was grateful his family had purchased a generator as he worked into the night. The aftermath for the rest of Clark's friends and families was not quite as smooth.
Lex had recovered with no memory of his possession by Zod, but Lana had filled him in on his short-lived extraordinary powers and Clark's apparent betrayal. Unaware of the sacrifice Clark had made to keep Lex safe, the couple was now deeply suspicious of him. The elder Luthor had come out of the chaos unscathed. Jor-El's control of his body had inadvertently helped save him from disaster. He had taken over Lionel's body just as the mob came upon him. In typical Luthor fashion, Lionel had paid to keep the destructive rioters out of jail in return for their silence of his unusual temporary abilities.
They had been the lucky ones. Martha, Lois, and Chloe both resided in the hospital at the moment. Clark had managed to save Martha and Lois just in the nick of time as their plane careened into the mountains. Chloe had tracked the plane using its radar system He had flown up into the air, grabbed the tail of the plane, and then he whisked the two women to the closest hospital he could find. They were under observation for severe asphyxia, but were expected to be out of the hospital in a few days. Chloe had broken her arm in the melee and had garnered a few scrapes and bruises. Clark planned to visit them the next morning. He felt the first rays of sun shining through the barn door. Morning.
Clark moved his hand down his face in frustration. He zipped over to the Metropolis hospital and entered the gift shop. After making his purchase, he smiled and sniffed the bouquet of flowers in his hands. He made his way to her room and stopped at room 200. His heart was racing as he nervously knocked on the door. The truth was, he had come to his own revelations while stuck in the Phantom Zone and he couldn't stand keeping them to himself a moment longer. He just hoped she would understand….