Ch. 2

Chloe sat in her living room staring at the boxes she lived in this new apartment for a month and she still hasn't had time to unpack. Lois and she have been roommates for years and they both finally made enough money to own their own nice apartments in the city. The past five years they moved into in an apartment in Metropolis. It was a very nice place and she loved being Lois' roommate she felt a sense of security living with her closest family member.

Things have been going pretty well with Lois. Chloe looked at the silver picture frame of the two laughing. It was at a Daily Planet Christmas party. Chloe smiled thinking about it. Lois and Chloe have been through so much together. It seemed like they have conquered so much together. They would always put each other first. Chloe almost lost her job and Lois had the power to take her down and at same time leveraging her own career but she didn't.

It was just before this picture of them hugging Lois was actually helping decorating for the Christmas party. Well if you call bossing everyone else around helping. A girl seemed quite afraid of Lois as Lois was telling her to put the banner at a certain spot. Chloe saw this and saw that Lois was distracted so she snuck into the editor's office sleuth like. The smell of Perry's cigars stuck out in her mind. She tip toed through the dark room as she picked the lock of his file case. There she took out a picture of the Green Arrow putting it on the desk.

Chloe then took out a lighter from Perry's desk and started to light the picture on fire. It was a picture of the Green Arrow with out his glasses showing his face. Lois walked in light heartedly at first, "Hey, cuz what are you doing sneaking for a smoke because I though I was the one with a…oh…what the hell?"

Shocked Chloe threw the picture in the trash causing the trash to burst into to flames. Chloe then hurriedly took the fire extinguisher and blew it out.

"Lois, I can explain." Chloe said in panic mode.

"Chloe, I mean Chloe. I…I don't know what to say. Destroying evidence? In Perry's office? I thought he was your mentor. How could you do this to him and the whole newspaper? I thought this was important to you. I thought the Daily Planet was your life. Exposing truth it's what you do. But this….How could you?"

"I…I….I don't know Lois. I understand if you want to tell Perry." Chloe said defeated. Lois' words got to her. Everything she always stood for was being questioned.

Lois bit her lower lip; she closed and locked the door.

She sympathetically looked at her cousin, "Chloe, what's going on? Just explain it to me."

Chloe looked down at the torched trash. Then she looked up at Lois.

"I'm sorry, you caught me Lois. I really am. But I just can't explain what I was doing."

"Why not?" Lois said looking in the trash.

"What was so important that you were willing to risk your career?" Then Lois looked at the empty envelope that the picture came from.

"Oh my, Chloe, no way, I thought you loved Jimmy. How could torch Jimmy's picture?"

Chloe gazed down ashamed then she gathered her bearings.

"Ok, Lois here it goes. I need you to trust me on this. I did this for everyone's own good. I never meant to hurt anyone, especially not Jimmy. I know his work means so much to him and I am so proud of him but there are some things that the public just should not see."

"What about Jimmy? Don't you think he'll notice that his picture didn't make it to the presses?"

"Look, I'm just going to have to talk to Jimmy and ask him to look the other way on this one."

"Chloe we are partners and Jimmy is our primary photographer if there was something that he saw we were going to do the story on it."

"Jimmy told me about the picture not too long ago saying he turned this picture into the chief this mourning. He wanted to surprise me but he couldn't contain his excitement about it so he told me. I know the chief hasn't looked at it, I've been watching him all day. I know it may seem wrong and it feels like I betrayed Jimmy but really I was protecting him and this entire city, well the whole world really."

"Now don't be over dramatic."

"I know it seems that way but I'm really not." Chloe said digging into her pocket she took out her JLA communicator.

Lois looked at it in awe.

"Holy…that's the Justice League symbol. How? No one even knows if their for real. All we got are a bunch of speculations and rumors that they occasionally land in Smallville saving people. They have done a good job trying to stay under wraps."

"Well, they have had some help."

"What? You? Chloe the Justice League can send you straight to the front page!"

"I know. Keep it down will you?"

"Oh, oh right." Lois said trying to calm her self down. Then she looked at Chloe seriously, "Ok, cuz, so what your protecting the Justice League?"

"Yes."

"And you have been for a long time?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I believe in them and in what they are doing. It's more important then my career."

Lois was shocked at the statement. She sat down at Perry's desk.

"Oh, I need a minute for all of this to sink in. So what every time some thing that has to do with the JLA, you just destroy the evidence."

"Uh, yeah, pretty much I've been asking them to show themselves to the media but their pretty reclusive. They don't want anyone to have any idea about their real secret identities. People they care about could get hurt. They have made a few enemies and if they ever found out who they were their loved ones could be in harms way."

"I get that." Lois said staring into space. Lois then went into her purse grabbing a cigarette.

Chloe looks at her like she's about to protest.

"Oh, come on Chloe your not judging me, now, are you?"

Chloe smirked, "Never."

"Good." Lois said as she light her cigarette with Perry's lighter that Chloe used to torch the paper.

Lois made a large refreshing puff then said, "Ok, so now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where does this leave us?"

"I guess that's up to you. I was hoping you would look the other way on this one and not tell Perry White."

Lois took another puff, "Oh, come cuz, your little indiscretion is my little indiscretion."

Chloe smiled big huge glowing smile.

"Thanks,cuz."

Lois nodded her head and took another puff.