Clark was soaring over the towering buildings of Metropolis. The usual bright lights were extinguished and the downtown looked unrecognizable. In the distance he made out the globe of The Daily Planet, its constant spinning ceased.
He slowed to a halt and was now hovering above the besieged city.
The sensation of flying was new to him and he felt slightly lightheaded as he realized just how high he was.
He still hated heights although he was adjusting quickly.
He scanned up and down the area. The streets were ransacked but deserted.
He touched down in the middle of an intersection. Power lines were strewn all across the street, the traffic lights shattered and laying in pieces. He walked over the mess, the glass crunching under his feet, towards The Planet.
The store fronts he passed had broken windows and crude graffiti sprayed on the surface. Several police cars were overturned and smoke lingered in the air over the dying embers of a few scattered fires.
He reached the busted out door of The Planet. He walked into the front area and saw it was as trashed as the outside.
"Chloe?' He called, his voice echoing through the empty lobby.
He saw Daily Planet Bites! sprawled across the walls in red paint. He reached out and grazed it with his fingers. It was still wet.
"Chloe?" He called again as he sped down to the basement office.
It was pitch black and several desks were overturned; papers covering the floor like snow.
Clark hoped that somehow Chloe had made it out of the city safely, but had a nagging feeling that she would decide to go down with the ship, so to speak.
But as he searched the building it was obvious she had fled as well.
As he walked back outside he heard a siren behind him and turned to see a lone cop car pull over to the curb.
"What are you doing?" The cop asked accusingly as he emerged from his vehicle.
"Think you're gonna get in a little more artwork in while the city is on lockdown? Well it looks like I caught you red handed, eh?."
He reached for his police radio and began to speak into it.
"Yeah this is Officer Wilson; I have a vandalism in progress."
"Vandalism? What is he taking about?" Clark thought.
Then he looked down and saw red pain staining his hand.
"No Officer, this is just a misunderstanding. I was looking for my friend—"
The policeman ignored him and began to advance, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.
"Now listen I am gonna need to bring you in. I've had a lot of trouble with you punks tonight."
As he walked closer he stumbled over a pot hole and dropped his radio.
"Damn". He yelled as he reached down to grab it.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Clark gave a quick look around and took off in a blur.
He zoomed down the street and stopped behind a building. He could hear the siren start up again in the distance.
"Chloe where are you?"
He closed his eyes and let his ears scan the sounds of the city, filtering out the siren and other assorted noises.
He struggled for a few minutes before he heard it. It was faint but decipherable.
It was Chloe's voice.
She was laughing.
"Thank goodness she's safe."
He listened even closer and was able to distinguish other background noises. He heard a smattering of voices; some were crying and others sounded distressed. He heard someone say the word nurse.
"Metropolis General." He realized and sped off towards the hospital.
As Clark walked in through the emergency room doors he was struck by how busy it was. There were people everywhere, many with minor cuts and scratches, but some were screaming in agony.
It was like nothing he had ever seen before.
He focused his hearing again and zoned in on Chloe's voice.
She heard her laugh and say the name Ben.
In the background he heard a women's voice.
"I said waiting room seven, this is five."
Clark saw that that waiting room was on the fifth floor and made his way up the stairs; pushing past people who were crowded on them.
"This is a fire hazard! You all need to move!"
He heard a voice yell as he turned the corner.
When he made it to the fifth floor he looked down the hallway to see two large doors displaying the name of his destination. He walked into the room and it was crowded beyond belief.
People were milling around, yelling at bewildered nurses. Some were lying on cots scattered throughout the room.
That's when he saw her.
She was perched on a cot in the far end of the room. Her clothes were torn and she had a large bloody bandage wrapped around her head.
He made his way towards her and saw that she wasn't alone.
Directly across from her was a young man, he was laughing and pouring her a cup of water.
Chloe laughed in return, lifting the paper cup to her mouth.
She looked up and by chance glanced in his direction. Her eyes grew wide and she spilled the water onto her lap.
" Clark! Thank God you're safe!" She cried as Clark came over to her side.
He bent down and felt Chloe throw herself tightly around him. He pulled her closer, not wanting to let go.
"Chloe I was so worried that something had happened to you. " He whispered into her hair.
She pulled back and looked deep into his eyes.
"Me too."
He noticed she had a few cuts along her cheeks and her hair was slightly matted with blood, but he thought she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
He had never known a thought as frightening as the thought of losing her. Seeing her alive and well made him forget all those qualms he had about risking their friendship for romance. Made him forget all his worries about her not feeling the same.
The way she looked back up at him, he could see the love in her eyes.
"Ahem."
Clark heard a cough behind him and remembered that there was someone with her.
Chloe pulled away and looked back from Clark to the young man in the chair.
"Oh I'm sorry. Clark this is Ben. Ben this is Clark."
Ben stood up and smiled, extending his hand to shake.
"Aaah, the mysterious Clark at last." He quipped as Clark shook his hand.
"Mysterious?" He asked, giving Chloe a strange look.
"Yeah she kept calling for you all night. I was starting to worry you were a figment of her imagination."
"Calling for me? What happened?"
"Yeah" Chirped Chloe as Clark sat down next to her. "I was at The Planet when this all started and when I went to leave these two men came up to me. One tried to take my purse, and I fell. And well Ben here came to my rescue."
She looked back at Ben with admiration.
"Well like I said, anyone would have done the same." He said in return.
"Yeah easy to say, but not everyone would take on two jerks twice their size to help a complete stranger."
He smiled and looked at her in such a way that Clark swore he felt something pass between them.
Suddenly he felt like a third wheel.
"Well I would like to thank you as well, for helping her." Clark said as he looked Ben over.
He looked like a nice guy, and anyone who risked their neck for his best friend deserved his respect. Yet he couldn't bring himself to actually like him and he didn't know why.
He also couldn't shake an overwhelming sense of guilt.
Guilty that he wasn't able to be the one to save her.
Guilty that she wasn't looking up at him right now with awe.
Then it dawned on him.
"Am I jealous?"
He immediately felt silly for even thinking it.
He had nothing to be jealous of. He was happy Chloe ran into someone like Ben; if it wasn't for him, who knows what could have happened. He possibly saved her life.
He should be deliriously happy.
Instead he felt conflicted.
"Well I appreciate that." Ben said sincerely. "But enough with the kudos here or I think my head is in danger of exploding."
Chloe laughed and Clark attempted one as well.
"Chloe can I, um, speak to you for a moment." He said.
Clark looked between back and forth between the two and Ben stood up from his chair.
"Ok, well I'll take that hint and give you two a little privacy. " He said with a wink and turned his back to walk away.
When he was out of site Chloe shot off a barrage of questions.
" Clark what happened? Where were you? Did you find Lex?"
Clark too a deep breath and launched into his story.
"I went to Lex's mansion and Fine was there. He had Lex in some sort of trance and he went on about how I had to kill Lex to be the vessel for Zod."
Chloe's jaw dropped and Clark continued.
"He gave me this crystal Kryptonian dagger and told me to kill or else. I told him I would never release Zod or kill Lex. Then he did something to Lex's computer and caused all this."
"Then what?"
"It was some sort of trick. Fine knew I wouldn't kill Lex, so I threw the dagger at him instead. It must have been what he wanted me to do all along, because Fine disappeared and Lex—isn't Lex anymore."
"You mean--?"
"Yes."
Chloe looked shocked; as if she could be knocked over by a feather.
"He is now—Zod?"
Clark nodded solemnly.
"Then Lana came barging in through the door thinking he was still Lex. I tried to stop her but I couldn't move. The next moment she was being thrown across the room and he took this metal bracelet and flung it out the window. It was a portal to a place called the Phantom Zone."
"The Phantom Zone?"
"It's a prison Jor El created for Kryptonian criminals. It's like another dimension. It's—indescribable. It just pulls you in, like a vacuum, and leaves you in this invisible cage over the Earth—"
Chloe stared back at him in disbelief.
"So I am assuming then that Zod wanted you to stay in this other dimension thingy. So how did you get out?"
"I don't know. I think something exploded in space. A missile or something, I'm not sure. But it opened it up somehow and me and a few others were set free."
"Others? You mean a bunch of Kryptonian baddies are running loose?"
Clark nodded.
"Wow." Was all Chloe could muster.
"But I really think we should start to head back to Smallville. You need rest, and I need to check on my mom and Lois. Plus I need to find Lex—I mean—you know—before he does anything."
Chloe agreed and began to grab for her purse.
Suddenly Ben came around the corner and his smile faded as he saw the alarm all over their faces.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, fine." Clark said, standing up. "We're just about to leave."
He gestured to himself and Chloe.
Ben looked crestfallen.
"She needs to rest and I have some important things to take care of."
Ben stuck out his hand again.
"It was nice meeting you Clark." He said
"Yeah you too."
Ben then reached out and took Chloe's hand, helping her stand up.
"And well I suppose I will be seeing you around the Planet?" He said as he bent down to pick up his jacket from the floor.
Clark's head turned in surprise.
He worked at The Planet?
"Yeah, if there is even a Planet left to come back to. "
She looked sadly down at the ground.
"I'm sure it is fine Chloe. It's The Planet, it's indestructible." Ben said placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder.
Clark knew Chloe loved The Planet more than anything; he didn't have the heart to tell her that it had been completely turned upside down.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around. Thanks for everything." Chloe said, opening her arms and leaning towards him.
Clark watched as the two awkwardly hugged each other goodbye.
"Well till we meet again Clark, hopefully under better circumstances." Said Ben as he pulled away from Chloe and waved goodbye.
Clark gave a brisk nod and took Chloe by the arm, maneuvering her out into the hallway.
Far from prying eyes, he scooped her up into his arms and shot off towards Smallville.
