Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters. This is merely a tweak to the original story by Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as directed by Jeannot Szwarc and as such, there are elements of plot and dialogue that are from the episode. Because of the differences between this and the episode it is based on, there are no scenes involving Lex.

A DAY TO NOT REMEMBER.

Chapter 1.

He stood to one side of the counter, watching. All around him, animated chatter and laughter as the Talon was at its busiest. Waitresses were swinging by tables clearing up empty cups and plates as the two behind the counter serving customers fought to keep up with the veritable avalanche of orders.

Lois was now in her element with the frantic activity, calling out for waitresses to take orders to the right tables as she began dealing with the next orders. A shake of cinnamon here, a sprinkling of chocolate there, plus a squirt of whipped cream to top it all off. She and the other girl were perfectly in sync moving from coffee machine to counter to cash register. It was one of those rare mornings when there was a coffee rush at the Talon as though the town's entire student population had piled in for their caffeine fix.

He wasn't there to eye up the pretty girls behind the counter though. He was there to empty the cash register. He found it strange how robbing cash registers was easiest in places where it was very busy as despite there being so many pairs of eyes, none of them were ever paying attention to the nondescript kid in the biker jacket. Kevin Grady was remarkable for being unremarkable and he looked at it as both a gift and a curse - he never attracted any attention, but he never attracted any attention either.

Stealing money was once deemed a necessity after running away from home but Kevin now found himself regularly on the end of that necessity after deciding he couldn't go back for good, and he put the root cause down to events barely a year ago. Kevin was still reeling from his brother's death in a hunting accident in the woods near Smallville. It was a hunt he, his brother and his dad had done on many occasions and there had never been any incidents before. It had always been fun. Kevin loved to go hunting and fishing but he couldn't bring himself to pick up a gun now. Even a fishing rod held no interest.

The other girl had stepped away from behind the counter as she went to froth some milk for some extra large lattes, so Kevin took that as his cue to sidle up behind the counter, snagging a muffin and putting it in his pocket while Lois was preoccupied with another order. The two customers standing by the counter right in front of the muffin tray didn't see a thing, so engrossed were they in their own conversation. At the same time, Clark and Chloe walked into the busy Talon to grab a cup of coffee.

Clark was secretly hoping that Lois would serve him as it would give him a chance to tease her about her coffee-making skills and attempts at waitressing. He knew she would have to bite her tongue when answering back because a full-on snarky comeback would look inappropriate in front of the customers, and he knew she wouldn't be happy about that. The waitressing didn't come easily to her but barking out orders and making sure people had the correct money certainly did. He actually thought she made a very good cup of coffee but it was more fun to annoy her by pretending she didn't. It was something that aroused his curiosity because the very things he thought Lois was good at, she often dismissed as trivial or claimed to not be interested in. A case in point was her short stint writing articles for the Torch. The articles had largely been well received by the students and some of the most popular editions featured articles written by her, such as her piece on cosmetic surgery. If only Lois could be bothered to learn how to use a spell checker, maybe she could get into journalism like Chloe.

It wasn't long before they'd be graduating from high school, so naturally a lot of discussion centred on what major they would be studying and which colleges or universities they'd be applying to. It was this discussion that Clark and Chloe were having as they walked in. Clark mentioned trying for the University of Miami as it represented the fresh start he felt he needed, though being him, he also felt guilty for leaving his parents to run the farm. Chloe's response was in keeping with several other observations of hers in recent weeks, talking about his skills. It was what she wasn't saying that troubled him a little, like she knew something but wasn't letting on as to what it was.

Lois had just taken payment and opened the cash register. However, she left it open and unattended for a brief moment while taking the next order and that's when Kevin seized his opportunity. He stepped around her and straight to the register, swiping a huge handful of cash and filling the backpack he had with him. Again, nobody had seen a thing but this time, Lois had felt something move behind her. Looking to her right, the other girl was still frothing milk. Looking to her left, she saw Kevin standing there. He froze.

"What can I get you?" she asked him.

His panic was building as the register was still open right in front of him. "Uh, thanks, I've already been helped." He backed away and made a beeline for the back door of the Talon, needing to get away from the scene of the crime.

Lois was about to resume dealing with the last order when her eyes fell on the open register. There was almost no money in it. Looking up, Kevin was nowhere to be seen. As it dawned on her that the Talon had been robbed in plain sight, she slammed the register shut and began looking around. She'd just spotted Clark and Chloe - well, Clark anyway, since Chloe was so tiny she was hidden by the crowd - near the back door. She also spotted the back of Kevin's jacket as he fled the scene.

"HEY, STOP!" she yelled at full volume. "THAT GUY JUST ROBBED US!"

With that, she moved around the counter and made a dash for Kevin and the exit. Customers everywhere stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was. Since they were looking at the front where the shouting had come from, nobody's attention was on the back door and Kevin.

Hearing her shout, Clark's attention went to where she was looking as she charged towards him with a face that portrayed both anger and determination. Eyeing the exit, he could see the door swinging but didn't see anybody. He didn't recall anybody walking in that direction as he'd been talking to Chloe only seconds earlier, but he recognised that Lois was on a mission and immediately jumped in to help.

"Wait here," he said to Chloe as he went for the exit. Opening the door and looking around, he just about caught the back of Kevin who was sprinting around the corner and into the alley.

Clark realised that people might be watching so super-speeding or using any powers was out of the question. If Kevin was stopped by a freak occurrence, it would be awkward to explain what had happened.

He called out, "Hey!"

Kevin turned around quickly, looking Clark in the eye. Before Clark knew what had happened, Kevin had raised his hands and sent two sharp bursts of green energy into Clark's face, sending him stumbling backwards into the wall beside the door. He landed in a heap on the ground, dazed and unsure what had happened. Kevin carried on round the corner.

Within seconds, Lois had come charging through the door, spotting Clark as he lay there. She didn't stop to see how he was as all her attention was focussed on catching the thief. She took off to head round the corner.

Kevin had run to his yellow truck and jumped in, quickly firing up the engine and putting his foot down on the gas. Looking this way and that to see if he'd been spotted, he just about managed to slam on the brakes in time as he spotted Lois right in front of him. She was raging as she walked up to the driver's door and yanked it open.

In a panic, Kevin raised his hands and sent a continuous beam of the same green energy he'd used on Clark. The force of the energy was so strong it lifted Lois off her feet and launched her into the chain link fence behind her as a flood of memories flashed through her head: the hectic morning at the Talon; wearing a gaudy pink dress at the high school prom; in tears while arguing with her father on the phone; being stuck in the back of a trailer with Lucy after being taken hostage by a Swiss loan shark; Shelby sitting there staring at her and cocking his head as she sipped her coffee at breakfast; out-drinking the frat boys on campus at Met U; finding Clark holding the dead body of Alicia; singing with Chloe at the Talon on karaoke night; waking up in the Kawatche caves wearing a slutty outfit; watching Clark make the decisive play in the closing seconds of the championship game; watching Clark make out with a slutty high school cheerleader; dunking Clark; reading her first article for the Torch and feeling proud of her efforts; being told by her father that she had to retake her final high school semester; finding Chloe alive; evading a bunch of stormtroopers and a helicopter in a field; Chloe's grave; meeting Martha Kent; Clark lifting her up and moving her aside effortlessly at the hospital; staring at Clark Jr. for a couple of seconds; finding a naked Clark Kent in a field; sneaking out of the army base in her dad's SUV.

Like Clark, she'd landed in a heap on the ground but unlike Clark, she'd been knocked unconscious. Kevin put his foot down and escaped, leaving just a trail of dust and tyre smoke.

Chloe had been standing in the Talon while it all unfolded outside. After seeing Clark head for the exit shortly followed by an irate Lois, she decided to see what was going on. Surely Clark must have caught the culprit. After all, with all these abilities of his, it ought to have been a cinch. So it was with a shock that upon opening the door, she saw Clark sitting against the wall rubbing his head and looking dazed. She rushed up to him.

"Clark! Clark! Are you alright? What happened?"

Clark's response sounded every bit as confused as his face looked. "I uh, I don't know."

Chloe frowned. "Where's Lois?"

Clark's face told her that he didn't have a clue. She helped him get back to his feet, and doing so seemed to clear the cobwebs a little as the confusion slowly ebbed away. He blinked and looked around but he had no idea why he was standing at the back of the Talon near the alley. Chloe had already moved towards the alley, just about catching the dust and tyre smoke in the air. Looking to the far side, she spotted a figure slumped down by the fence.

"Oh no. Lois!" Chloe dashed to her stricken cousin, crouching down beside her and touching her face. "Lois!"

Clark followed Chloe out into the alley and ran over to her and Lois.

"She's been knocked out, Clark," said Chloe, with the worry evident on her face.

"Chloe, I don't know what happened. The last thing I remember was Lois saying she'd been robbed, and then waking up when you came over. I didn't see anybody."

They both heard Lois starting to stir.

"I need to go back in and tell the girls to man the fort. Clark, you should stay with Lois. I'll be back in just a second."

Chloe made her way back through the door and into the Talon as a group of people stepped outside to see what was going on. Clark crouched down by Lois as she woke up and blinked her eyes.

"Lois! Lois, are you alright?" he asked.

Lois looked up. The images were blurry at first but as her eyes began to focus, she could make out the shape of a figure leaning over her. It was a man's voice, and he sounded concerned as he kept asking if she was alright. She could now see the man clearly even though there was now a dull throbbing pain in the back of her head, but she didn't recognise him. The man's eyebrows pinched together as he frowned. She started to appraise him. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. The sunlight behind him framed his face like a halo and his concern over her well-being made him positively angelic and even more attractive. Wow!

As Clark helped her to sit up, she turned to him and asked, "Am I in heaven?"