General Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of these characters. They are all
either propert of DC Comics, Warner Brothers, or another subsidiary of AOL-
Time Warner Inc.
Author's Note: This is a story set in the future, post-smallville. All our fav smallvillians/ains have either left town or settled down. Clark has just moved to Metropolis to take his job at the Planet, only in this timeline, Chloe is going to be working there too. Lex is still working under his father, only he was recalled to Metropolis to shoulder a larger portion of the burden after his father had an unfortunate accident. Lionel has married Lana's Aunt Nell, and she and Lana both live in Metropolis. Lana is just beginning her final year at Metropolis University, after taking several years off to travel. Pete is also in Metropolis, about to begin a job as a Lawyer at LuthorCorp, working under Lex. We'll begin with the newsroom of the Daily Planet, Clark is just getting ready step off the elevator…
"Whoa! Watch it, Buddy!" Clark barely managed to avoid running into someone he could only guess was a copy-runner.
"I'll try to remember that." He straightened his glasses and leaned over to pick up his briefcase. "What's your name, anyway, Kid?"
"It's James, but everyone just calls me Jimmy, Jimmy Olson." He stopped, and Clark was finally able to see the camera around the young man's neck.
"It's good meeting you, Jimmy. I'm Clark Kent, one of the new investigative reporters."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, but I've gotta run." With that, Jimmy rounded the corner and was gone. Clark quietly laughed to himself.
"Kent!" Clark quickly recognized the burly voice of his Editor-in- Chief, Perry White and quickly made his way to his office.
"Yeah, Perry." Clark straightened his tie and set his briefcase down in the doorway, not noticing the dark-haired woman sitting in the chair just inside the door.
"Clark, I want you to meet my star reporter, Lois Lane." Clark turned to face her.
"Actually, we've already met, though I doubt you remember." He could see a look of confusion on her face. "It was three years ago, a Journalism convention in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne introduced us."
"Oh my, you're right!" Lois stood up and held out her hand to Clark. Just as he did, Chloe comes charging into the office.
"Trying to start without me, guys?" She shot Perry a look, which he quickly returned and she backed down a bit.
"Yes, Lois Lane, this is Chloe Sullivan, our other, new investigative reporter. She and Clark went to High School together, isn't that right?" Perry placed his hands on his desk, not eager to allow Chloe any room to maneuver with him.
"Yes, both proud graduates of Smallville High School." Chloe reached out and took Lois's hand. She turned to see Clark smiling at her; she smiled back.
"Well, now that we have the introductions done with, maybe we could move onto the business side of things. Lois, do you have anything for me?" Perry rolled up his sleeves and sat back down behind his desk, pencil in hand.
"Actually, Perry, I've been hearing some rumblings of abductions in Suicide Slum, and was thinking there might be something to that worth investigating." Lois reached into her briefcase to pull out her notepad. "Oh, and there's also rumors going around that he Mayor has been taking money under the table from some…shall we say, unsavory elements."
Clark just sat, listening to Lois, glancing from her to Perry, to Chloe. He could tell that Perry was riveted by that last suggestion from Lois, but it seemed that Chloe was more intrigued by the first. That was something about her, she was always eager to take the stories that didn't look like they would amount to much. Suddenly, Perry's voice caused him to refocus.
"What about you Clark? Got anything for us?"
"Well, Perry, I've only been in town a couple days, but I do have an invite to the LuthorCorp Charity Ball on Wednesday. I think the mayor is going to be there, and there should also be some of these…unsavory characters, as Lois put it. I could check it out, see if there might be something going on with them. Maybe even get a chance to talk to the Mayor." Clark could see that his comments took the wind out of Lois's sails. She really wanted that story, and Clark had pretty much stolen it right out from under here. "Also, some friends of mine in the Bio-tech industry are hearing rumblings of a secret government project going on here in Metropolis, something to do with Cloning."
"That's what I'm hearing too, Chief." Chloe finally piped in. "The codename of the project is Cadmus, like the bio-tech firm that was purchased by Hardwick Industries a few years ago before it was swallowed by LuthorCorp. Apparently the Luthors sold the interests in the company and its patents to the government for a hefty some about a year later."
"You'd think they would go through the trouble of at least renaming the damn thing." Lois had a look of disbelief on her face.
"Also, Chief, I'd be totally willing to investigate those disappearances in Suicide Slum." Chloe volunteered herself for what seemed like the more boring of the three suggestions so far.
"Sounds good to me, Lois?" Perry turned back to his veteran reporter.
"I guess that leaves me the Cadmus story, then." She shifted in her seat before giving Chloe a look. She didn't seem to notice, so Lois just looked away. Good. In the mean time, Clark, I want you to cover the LuthorCorp benefit anyway, since you're going to be there, and you all need to have a piece on my desk by tomorrow morning. Get your assignments from Jane. She'll have the latest Flashes." Perry leaned back in his chair and the rest of the got up to leave the room.
The three of them shared a set of desks, each with a computer and full compliment of writing paraphernalia. Clark could tell that Chloe was completely in her element. She loved this so much more than he did. He'd rather be at home, curled up with a good book, or writing one of his own. As he sat down and turned his computer on, he got an idea.
"Hey, Chloe." He spun around in his chair to look at his best friend. "You want to go the benefit with me? I could use your help with the mayor."
"Sure, Clark." Chloe turned was busy putting stuff in the drawers of her desk. Clark turned to look at Lois, a look a disappointment spread across her face. He decided to ignore it and turned his attention back to Chloe.
"Besides, it will give us a chance to talk to Lex." Clark noticed a clanking sound and turned to see Lois's pencils on the floor. "Something wrong, Lois?"
Lois quickly tried to compose herself again. "You know Lex Luthor?"
Clark tried disparately to suppress a smile, glancing over at Chloe he noticed her doing the same thing, but she spoke first. "They're pretty much best friends."
Clark just sat there, perfectly content to let Chloe do the explaining, and clearly enjoying the look of pure envy that was spreading across Lois's face.
"So that's how you got the invite to the benefit." Lois seemed to lighten up a little bit. "It must be handy, having friends in high places like that."
"It has its benefits." Clark just smiled and started checking his e- mail. There was one from Pete, one from his mother, and another from Lex,.
"Think you could introduce me some time?" Lois now seemed focused on Clark. "I've been trying to get an interview with him ever since he came back to Metropolis to take over a larger part of the business after his father's accident. But, he's denied all of my requests."
"Not really surprising. Lex doesn't really trust very many people." Clark smiled. "But, I'll see what I can do."
"I don't know about you two, but I've got to get to work. I want to get my article in to Perry by the end of the day today, so that I can spend some more time investigating tomorrow morning." Chloe was now huddled over her computer, rapidly typing away.
Clark and Lois both nodded their heads at Chloe and began working on their own work. About two hours later, Clark managed to pull himself away from his search on the net and the email from his mother. "I'm going to go grab a bite, either of you want to come?"
"Sure, I'll go." Lois stopped typing and reached for her purse.
"Not right now, though thanks for the offer." Chloe never even looked away from the computer, not that Clark was surprised. She was always so involved in her work. That was one of the things he loved about her.
Lois and Clark left Chloe to her work and made their way out of the Planet Building and headed across the street to a deli/coffeehouse, Clark catching Lois glancing up at the LuthorCorp Tower looming in the eastern skyline.
"You got a thing for LuthorCorp, Lois?" his voice starteled her as they drew into the stood just outside the deli door.
"Not really, I just think there's a lot more to the Luthors than meets the eye."
"Not that much more, at least not with Lex, anyway. Lionel maybe, but Lex is one of the good guys." Clark opened the door for her and they went in. After they got their food, they took a seat in a window boot, a view of all the passing cars and the globe over the entrance to the Daily Planet.
"How did you and Lex become best friends, Clark?" Lois asked in between bites of her turkey sandwich.
"That's actually an interesting story. You see, I saved his life about eight years ago." Lois dropped her sandwich onto her plate.
"You saved his life!" That wasn't quite what she had been expecting.
"Yeah, his car went off a bridge just outside of Smallville, and luckily I was there and able to dive in and pull him out." He paused to assess the look on Lois's face then continued. "We've pretty much been close ever since. Not to mention that I dated his step-sister in high school."
Lois just sat, transfixed on the man in front of her. When she had first heard about Perry hiring him, she was skeptical. What could a country boy from Smallville know about Journalism, so what if he had a Masters in English and Psychology from Metropolis University. Now, however, she realized that there was a lot more to Clark Kent than meets the eye.
They both quickly finished their food, choosing to basically just make small talk now that Lois had satisfied her curiosity about how Clark knew Lex. When they finished, they left and headed back across the street.
"Clark, I need to go grab something from my car, I'll be back up in a second." Lois made here way towards the parking Garage next to the building.
"Ok, I'll let Perry know you're on your way back." He turned back into the building and started for the elevators. That was when he heard her scream.
"Why don't you shut up, Miss Lane!" The man that had grabbed her was dragging her, kicking and screaming through the strangely empty parking garage. "No one's going to help you; you're going to find out what happens when you go poking around in places you shouldn't."
Clark rounded the corner and scanned the area with his x-ray vision. He looked up and saw Lois being dragged by someone. He raced up to the next level, and came to a stop behind her assailant. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
"Who the hell?" The man swung around, but it was too late. Clark knocked his gun from his hand and laid the man out with a right hook. He leaned down to check on Lois, she'd fallen face down when the man turned around.
"Clark!" Lois threw her arms around him and pulled herself up by his neck. "How'd you get here so fast?"
Clark didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly tell her that he'd heard her scream and then raced over with his super speed. Then he saw her purse, and looked inside it. He went to pick it up, and in the process removed her keys. "You dropped these, and I figured you'd need them to get into your car."
"I'm so glad that you did." She wrapped her arms around him again.
"Why don't we give the police a call, have them come pick this guy up?" He sat her down on one of the cement dividers. "Any idea who he is?"
"No idea, all he said was that I was going to learn not to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong. I'm an investigative reporter, Clark, I stick my nose into a lot of places."
Clark couldn't help but laugh. Lois punched him in the arm. "I'm sorry. It really isn't funny."
While he said this, Lois was calling the police. In five minutes, they were putting her assailant into the back of their car. One of the detectives was questioning Lois, and Clark was waiting with Chloe and Perry. Chloe and Clark were talking to each other.
"Well, Clark Kent saves the day again." Chloe smiled, winking at Clark. "Boy, you're a good person to have as a friend, but really, you need to stop getting to know people this way."
"Thanks a lot. I'm just glad she is ok." He smiled and reached out to Chloe's hand. "I was reminded of that time you fell out of Lex's window."
"Don't remind me." Chloe tightened up. "I still have nightmares about that."
"I really hat to apologize again, Chloe. I still feel terrible about that." They both turned back to see the source of the voice they both knew so well.
"Lex." Clark reached his hand out to his friend. "What brings you down from the marble tower to mingle with mere mortals."
"Funny, Clark." Lex laughed as he and Clark shook hands. "I just heard about what happened and had to come see for myself. I guess we can count Miss Lane as one of the people who is glad you're around."
"Yeah, Lex. We should start a club or something." Chloe smiled as she went over to hug Lex. "I can just see it. All of us wearing shirts that say: Saved by Clark Kent."
Clark buried his head in his hands. "Guys, please."
Chloe and Lex both laughed. "Don't worry, Clark. We'll need to get a few more members before we could make money off the deal, right Lex?"
"I think you're right. Clark, do you think you'll make it to my benefit on Wednesday? There's going to be someone there who wants to see you."
Clark's piqued at what Lex said. "Who?"
"I'm not supposed to tell. You'll just have to wait." Lex turned to leave. "Glad to see you're ok, Clark. I'll see you Wednesday; you too, Chloe?"
"Wouldn't miss it." Chloe turned to face Clark as Lex rounded the corner. "That was weird. Haven't seen him outside of the office or his apartment in quite a while."
"Yeah, he's been really buried in his work lately. I wonder who he could have been talking about." Clark was slightly bewildered by what his friend had said.
"No idea." Chloe put her arm around Clark and they began to walk back to the newsroom.
Author's Note: This is a story set in the future, post-smallville. All our fav smallvillians/ains have either left town or settled down. Clark has just moved to Metropolis to take his job at the Planet, only in this timeline, Chloe is going to be working there too. Lex is still working under his father, only he was recalled to Metropolis to shoulder a larger portion of the burden after his father had an unfortunate accident. Lionel has married Lana's Aunt Nell, and she and Lana both live in Metropolis. Lana is just beginning her final year at Metropolis University, after taking several years off to travel. Pete is also in Metropolis, about to begin a job as a Lawyer at LuthorCorp, working under Lex. We'll begin with the newsroom of the Daily Planet, Clark is just getting ready step off the elevator…
"Whoa! Watch it, Buddy!" Clark barely managed to avoid running into someone he could only guess was a copy-runner.
"I'll try to remember that." He straightened his glasses and leaned over to pick up his briefcase. "What's your name, anyway, Kid?"
"It's James, but everyone just calls me Jimmy, Jimmy Olson." He stopped, and Clark was finally able to see the camera around the young man's neck.
"It's good meeting you, Jimmy. I'm Clark Kent, one of the new investigative reporters."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, but I've gotta run." With that, Jimmy rounded the corner and was gone. Clark quietly laughed to himself.
"Kent!" Clark quickly recognized the burly voice of his Editor-in- Chief, Perry White and quickly made his way to his office.
"Yeah, Perry." Clark straightened his tie and set his briefcase down in the doorway, not noticing the dark-haired woman sitting in the chair just inside the door.
"Clark, I want you to meet my star reporter, Lois Lane." Clark turned to face her.
"Actually, we've already met, though I doubt you remember." He could see a look of confusion on her face. "It was three years ago, a Journalism convention in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne introduced us."
"Oh my, you're right!" Lois stood up and held out her hand to Clark. Just as he did, Chloe comes charging into the office.
"Trying to start without me, guys?" She shot Perry a look, which he quickly returned and she backed down a bit.
"Yes, Lois Lane, this is Chloe Sullivan, our other, new investigative reporter. She and Clark went to High School together, isn't that right?" Perry placed his hands on his desk, not eager to allow Chloe any room to maneuver with him.
"Yes, both proud graduates of Smallville High School." Chloe reached out and took Lois's hand. She turned to see Clark smiling at her; she smiled back.
"Well, now that we have the introductions done with, maybe we could move onto the business side of things. Lois, do you have anything for me?" Perry rolled up his sleeves and sat back down behind his desk, pencil in hand.
"Actually, Perry, I've been hearing some rumblings of abductions in Suicide Slum, and was thinking there might be something to that worth investigating." Lois reached into her briefcase to pull out her notepad. "Oh, and there's also rumors going around that he Mayor has been taking money under the table from some…shall we say, unsavory elements."
Clark just sat, listening to Lois, glancing from her to Perry, to Chloe. He could tell that Perry was riveted by that last suggestion from Lois, but it seemed that Chloe was more intrigued by the first. That was something about her, she was always eager to take the stories that didn't look like they would amount to much. Suddenly, Perry's voice caused him to refocus.
"What about you Clark? Got anything for us?"
"Well, Perry, I've only been in town a couple days, but I do have an invite to the LuthorCorp Charity Ball on Wednesday. I think the mayor is going to be there, and there should also be some of these…unsavory characters, as Lois put it. I could check it out, see if there might be something going on with them. Maybe even get a chance to talk to the Mayor." Clark could see that his comments took the wind out of Lois's sails. She really wanted that story, and Clark had pretty much stolen it right out from under here. "Also, some friends of mine in the Bio-tech industry are hearing rumblings of a secret government project going on here in Metropolis, something to do with Cloning."
"That's what I'm hearing too, Chief." Chloe finally piped in. "The codename of the project is Cadmus, like the bio-tech firm that was purchased by Hardwick Industries a few years ago before it was swallowed by LuthorCorp. Apparently the Luthors sold the interests in the company and its patents to the government for a hefty some about a year later."
"You'd think they would go through the trouble of at least renaming the damn thing." Lois had a look of disbelief on her face.
"Also, Chief, I'd be totally willing to investigate those disappearances in Suicide Slum." Chloe volunteered herself for what seemed like the more boring of the three suggestions so far.
"Sounds good to me, Lois?" Perry turned back to his veteran reporter.
"I guess that leaves me the Cadmus story, then." She shifted in her seat before giving Chloe a look. She didn't seem to notice, so Lois just looked away. Good. In the mean time, Clark, I want you to cover the LuthorCorp benefit anyway, since you're going to be there, and you all need to have a piece on my desk by tomorrow morning. Get your assignments from Jane. She'll have the latest Flashes." Perry leaned back in his chair and the rest of the got up to leave the room.
The three of them shared a set of desks, each with a computer and full compliment of writing paraphernalia. Clark could tell that Chloe was completely in her element. She loved this so much more than he did. He'd rather be at home, curled up with a good book, or writing one of his own. As he sat down and turned his computer on, he got an idea.
"Hey, Chloe." He spun around in his chair to look at his best friend. "You want to go the benefit with me? I could use your help with the mayor."
"Sure, Clark." Chloe turned was busy putting stuff in the drawers of her desk. Clark turned to look at Lois, a look a disappointment spread across her face. He decided to ignore it and turned his attention back to Chloe.
"Besides, it will give us a chance to talk to Lex." Clark noticed a clanking sound and turned to see Lois's pencils on the floor. "Something wrong, Lois?"
Lois quickly tried to compose herself again. "You know Lex Luthor?"
Clark tried disparately to suppress a smile, glancing over at Chloe he noticed her doing the same thing, but she spoke first. "They're pretty much best friends."
Clark just sat there, perfectly content to let Chloe do the explaining, and clearly enjoying the look of pure envy that was spreading across Lois's face.
"So that's how you got the invite to the benefit." Lois seemed to lighten up a little bit. "It must be handy, having friends in high places like that."
"It has its benefits." Clark just smiled and started checking his e- mail. There was one from Pete, one from his mother, and another from Lex,.
"Think you could introduce me some time?" Lois now seemed focused on Clark. "I've been trying to get an interview with him ever since he came back to Metropolis to take over a larger part of the business after his father's accident. But, he's denied all of my requests."
"Not really surprising. Lex doesn't really trust very many people." Clark smiled. "But, I'll see what I can do."
"I don't know about you two, but I've got to get to work. I want to get my article in to Perry by the end of the day today, so that I can spend some more time investigating tomorrow morning." Chloe was now huddled over her computer, rapidly typing away.
Clark and Lois both nodded their heads at Chloe and began working on their own work. About two hours later, Clark managed to pull himself away from his search on the net and the email from his mother. "I'm going to go grab a bite, either of you want to come?"
"Sure, I'll go." Lois stopped typing and reached for her purse.
"Not right now, though thanks for the offer." Chloe never even looked away from the computer, not that Clark was surprised. She was always so involved in her work. That was one of the things he loved about her.
Lois and Clark left Chloe to her work and made their way out of the Planet Building and headed across the street to a deli/coffeehouse, Clark catching Lois glancing up at the LuthorCorp Tower looming in the eastern skyline.
"You got a thing for LuthorCorp, Lois?" his voice starteled her as they drew into the stood just outside the deli door.
"Not really, I just think there's a lot more to the Luthors than meets the eye."
"Not that much more, at least not with Lex, anyway. Lionel maybe, but Lex is one of the good guys." Clark opened the door for her and they went in. After they got their food, they took a seat in a window boot, a view of all the passing cars and the globe over the entrance to the Daily Planet.
"How did you and Lex become best friends, Clark?" Lois asked in between bites of her turkey sandwich.
"That's actually an interesting story. You see, I saved his life about eight years ago." Lois dropped her sandwich onto her plate.
"You saved his life!" That wasn't quite what she had been expecting.
"Yeah, his car went off a bridge just outside of Smallville, and luckily I was there and able to dive in and pull him out." He paused to assess the look on Lois's face then continued. "We've pretty much been close ever since. Not to mention that I dated his step-sister in high school."
Lois just sat, transfixed on the man in front of her. When she had first heard about Perry hiring him, she was skeptical. What could a country boy from Smallville know about Journalism, so what if he had a Masters in English and Psychology from Metropolis University. Now, however, she realized that there was a lot more to Clark Kent than meets the eye.
They both quickly finished their food, choosing to basically just make small talk now that Lois had satisfied her curiosity about how Clark knew Lex. When they finished, they left and headed back across the street.
"Clark, I need to go grab something from my car, I'll be back up in a second." Lois made here way towards the parking Garage next to the building.
"Ok, I'll let Perry know you're on your way back." He turned back into the building and started for the elevators. That was when he heard her scream.
"Why don't you shut up, Miss Lane!" The man that had grabbed her was dragging her, kicking and screaming through the strangely empty parking garage. "No one's going to help you; you're going to find out what happens when you go poking around in places you shouldn't."
Clark rounded the corner and scanned the area with his x-ray vision. He looked up and saw Lois being dragged by someone. He raced up to the next level, and came to a stop behind her assailant. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
"Who the hell?" The man swung around, but it was too late. Clark knocked his gun from his hand and laid the man out with a right hook. He leaned down to check on Lois, she'd fallen face down when the man turned around.
"Clark!" Lois threw her arms around him and pulled herself up by his neck. "How'd you get here so fast?"
Clark didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly tell her that he'd heard her scream and then raced over with his super speed. Then he saw her purse, and looked inside it. He went to pick it up, and in the process removed her keys. "You dropped these, and I figured you'd need them to get into your car."
"I'm so glad that you did." She wrapped her arms around him again.
"Why don't we give the police a call, have them come pick this guy up?" He sat her down on one of the cement dividers. "Any idea who he is?"
"No idea, all he said was that I was going to learn not to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong. I'm an investigative reporter, Clark, I stick my nose into a lot of places."
Clark couldn't help but laugh. Lois punched him in the arm. "I'm sorry. It really isn't funny."
While he said this, Lois was calling the police. In five minutes, they were putting her assailant into the back of their car. One of the detectives was questioning Lois, and Clark was waiting with Chloe and Perry. Chloe and Clark were talking to each other.
"Well, Clark Kent saves the day again." Chloe smiled, winking at Clark. "Boy, you're a good person to have as a friend, but really, you need to stop getting to know people this way."
"Thanks a lot. I'm just glad she is ok." He smiled and reached out to Chloe's hand. "I was reminded of that time you fell out of Lex's window."
"Don't remind me." Chloe tightened up. "I still have nightmares about that."
"I really hat to apologize again, Chloe. I still feel terrible about that." They both turned back to see the source of the voice they both knew so well.
"Lex." Clark reached his hand out to his friend. "What brings you down from the marble tower to mingle with mere mortals."
"Funny, Clark." Lex laughed as he and Clark shook hands. "I just heard about what happened and had to come see for myself. I guess we can count Miss Lane as one of the people who is glad you're around."
"Yeah, Lex. We should start a club or something." Chloe smiled as she went over to hug Lex. "I can just see it. All of us wearing shirts that say: Saved by Clark Kent."
Clark buried his head in his hands. "Guys, please."
Chloe and Lex both laughed. "Don't worry, Clark. We'll need to get a few more members before we could make money off the deal, right Lex?"
"I think you're right. Clark, do you think you'll make it to my benefit on Wednesday? There's going to be someone there who wants to see you."
Clark's piqued at what Lex said. "Who?"
"I'm not supposed to tell. You'll just have to wait." Lex turned to leave. "Glad to see you're ok, Clark. I'll see you Wednesday; you too, Chloe?"
"Wouldn't miss it." Chloe turned to face Clark as Lex rounded the corner. "That was weird. Haven't seen him outside of the office or his apartment in quite a while."
"Yeah, he's been really buried in his work lately. I wonder who he could have been talking about." Clark was slightly bewildered by what his friend had said.
"No idea." Chloe put her arm around Clark and they began to walk back to the newsroom.