2

Reunion

Clark walked down the steps of the Daily Planet that led to the basement. It was still very strange to know that Chloe worked here. She had talked about it since eighth grade, and he was ecstatic to know that she had achieved her dream, but that didn't make it any less weird.

"Clark!" Chloe called, waving him over to her desk. Clark smiled and worked his way through the bustling people that seemed to be everywhere.

"Hey Chloe," He said. "How's it going?" Chloe sighed and sat down.

"I've done the first two pages of the obits I was assigned, you know how riveting those can be." She picked up a piece of paper off her desk. "Edna Hardwick, age ninety eight, died of natural causes," She shook her head and set the paper down. "I'm booked!" She said sarcastically. Clark chuckled lightly.

"Have you heard about all the deaths around Smallville?" He asked, turning serious. Chloe nodded.

"Yeah, pretty scary stuff," She said. "And Sheriff Adams thinks it's a person doing it right?" Clark cocked his brow at her. She smiled meekly. "So I've been doing a little research lately, sue me. It's that reporter blood in me," She shrugged. "It's a curse." Clark sat down in the desk chair opposite her.

"So how much do you know?" Clark asked. "I mean, do you think it's another Meteor Freak, or an actual serial killer?"

"I'm not really sure Clark. I am leaning on the Meteor Freak side though," She turned to her monitor, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "There's been reports of power surges and witnesses talking about a woman that doesn't seem to be real."

"I've never heard of a Meteor Freak this heartless before." Clark said. Chloe nodded.

"Me either. I think you should probably check it out though. I mean, considering." She said with a grin. Clark nodded.

"Thanks Chloe. I'll see you around." He smiled. She nodded, and held onto the papers on her desk as he darted out of the basement. She shook her head.

"I've said it once, I'll say it again," She said under her breath. "Man I wish I could do that."


Dean walked into the small coffee shop, looking at surroundings so familiar and so unreal at the same time. Sam gazed around in wonder. What he had taken for a movie theatre turned out to be a pretty cool looking coffee house. There seemed to be high school students everywhere, along with some of the older residents. Compared to the countless bars he was used to, this was a nice change.

"You'd figure there'd be a bar in this hick town." Dean mumbled. Sam shook his head.

"I'm gonna talk to some of these kids and see if they know anything." He said. Dean nodded, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yeah you do that. I'm gonna talk to the hottie behind the counter." He said. Sam rolled his eyes.

Dean strolled through the throng of kids and reached the counter. He sat down on one of the stools and waited for the pretty brunette to get to him. She handed espressos to a couple of giddy looking girls and turned to him. Her eyes lit up, a smile crept across her face.

"Well what can I do for you?" She asked, looking him up and down.

"Uh, black coffee please." He said, reading her nametag. Lois. The name registered, and he hid the skipped beat of his heart with a smile. Don't recognize me, don't recognize me, don't recognize me…

"Comin' right up sugar. Definitely a change from the wusses that usually come in here." She said, grabbing a cup and turning around. She set the now full cup in front of him and rested her elbows on the counter.

"I take it you get a lotta half-cafe mocha latte's?" He asked. She laughed.

"Yeah something like that. So where're you from? You don't look like you're from the middle of nowhere." She said.

"Lawrence actually." He said. She nodded.

"So what brings you here?" She asked. "I mean, this place moves about five miles an hour in a year."

"I'm a private investigator. Heard about the murders that have been happening lately, thought I should check it out." He said, pulling the lie out of nowhere. She nodded.

"And that guy that came in with you, is he your partner or..?" She asked.

"Nah, he's my little brother. Wanted to tag along." He said.

"Yeah, I know how that goes." Lois said.

"So what the hell are you doing serving muffins at a hick-spit coffee shop?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Pays the bills," She said. "I live right upstairs, figured I could do Mrs. Kent a favor and keep the place going." He nodded, trying not to wince at the name.

"So, these murders, have you heard anything interesting about them?" He asked nonchalantly. She placed her hand on her hip, but still gave him a smile.

"Going into business mode are we?" She asked. He nodded, returning her grin. "All I've really heard was people have been torn apart by parties unknown. Some of the witnesses say they've seen this woman, but she 'disappears' before they could talk to her. Cops have found no trace of fingerprints or the mystery woman." She said, grabbing a pair of tongs and taking cookies out of a basket and placing them into the glass case with about a half a dozen others.

"Somebody's nosy." Dean teased. She smirked at him.

"Nobody pays attention to the cashier," She said with a shrug. "And let me tell you, people have big mouths." Dean smiled and nodded. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at Sam, who nodded, the signal that it was time to go. He turned back to Lois.

"Sorry but I have to get out of here." He said.

"Duty calls?" Lois asked with a smirk.

"Something like that." He said, grabbing his coffee and getting off the stool.

"Hey," Lois said. "I didn't catch your name."

"It's Dean," He said. "See ya Lois." He turned and walked out the door. Lois was taken aback for a moment, then sighed and looked down at the nametag.

"Mm, cute."


Clark stopped running once he hit Main Street, making sure there was no one around to see him once he did. He headed toward the Talon, planning on asking Lois if she had heard anything about the murders that Chloe hadn't, though he doubted it. If there was anything to know, Chloe would have found out before most police would. He was less than a hundred feet form the entrance when two men walked out of the coffee shop, and one of them made him stop dead where he was. He was shocked for a moment, then furious. He felt his fist clench, anger rising in his chest. Without thinking he darted forward.


"So you and I found out the same thing." Sam said. Dean nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said, pushing past the double door onto the street. "So where the hell do you stay in the middle of nowhere?" He said, looking down both sides of the street. He only had seconds to register what he was looking at when he looked to his right, before a red and blue blur darted toward him. He winced and braced himself while Sam's eyes grew to record size. Then they weren't touching the ground anymore. The world rushed past them in a whirr, Dean felt sick. Sam was pretty sure he was gonna throw up, whether this sensation stopped or not. Thank God it did. There was a fist clutching Sam's shirt, which shoved him, causing him to stagger back, still trying to gain his balance. He looked up to see a kid, fury in his eyes, hand wrapped around his big brother's throat, and lifting him up off the ground.

"Clark! Clark! Let me explain please!" Dean choked. Sam ran forward, hand turning into a fist, aiming for the kid's face. He struck as hard as he could, and his hand instantly erupted in pain. It felt like he'd just hit a brick wall.

"Clark please!" Dean gasped. Clark glared at him for a moment, then, slowly the redness started to leave his face, and his grip loosened on his neck.

Sam was gripping his hand, making sure it wasn't broken. Thankfully it wasn't.

Dean collapsed on the grass, coughing and holding his throat.

"Jeez kid, lay off the Wheaties." He croaked. Clark glared at him, still enraged. Dean stood, still coughing lightly.

"What are you doing here Jason?" Clark asked darkly.

"Jason?" Sam murmured.

"First of all, my name's Dean. And second of all, everything that happened last year was a big misunderstanding," Clark said nothing. Sam was looking from his brother, to Clark, and back again. "And for whatever it's worth, I'm really sorry."

"What the hell is going on!?" Sam bellowed.

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