A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews guys! Keep 'em coming!

I'm posting a day early because I'm trying to go away for the Independence Day weekend and I may or may not be able to access my e-mail while I'm gone; so, while I fully intend to honor my promise to send every reviewer a 'sneak peek' I may not be able to do so for a few days.

So Happy Independence Day America, and I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Chapter 4

Precinct 16 Headquarters, Metropolis, February 15, 2019. The two men left the hoopla of the party behind and settled down for a serious discussion in Al's office. "I just got a call from an old colleague out in Arizona," the Lieutenant said. He seated himself behind his half-packed desk and gestured for Clark to take the remaining free chair in the room.

"Ok…" The reporter eyed his friend curiously, trying to determine how this phone call factored in with Al's retirement.

"Seems they nabbed someone out there with ties to an old case of mine—one I think you might be particularly interested in."

"Ok…"

"Phoenix PD has Kitty Kowalski in custody on 32 counts of fraud, and those are just the cons out there that they know of." He watched Clark slide the glasses off his nose while a disappointed look crossed his face. "I mean, who knows what else she's been up to these last thirteen years? Heck, we all thought she was dead!"

"No," the young man replied with finality, his voice eerily low. "If Luthor survived then she had to as well—we just had no way of tracing her or knowing where she'd gone off to. For her sake I'd hoped she'd gone straight."

"Right, well, I guess now we know that's not exactly what happened there." Al paused and ran a rough hand through what remained of his hair before turning to gauge his friend's reaction. "She's fighting extradition, too."

"Why?"

"You're not going to believe this but the woman's afraid of you. My guy in Arizona says that the minute her true identity came to light she started whoopin' and hollerin' about how she didn't want to come back here, how Lex made her do terrible things to you and how she couldn't face you."

Clark scowled at the news but remained silent in his seat for several minutes, leaving Al desperately wondering what was going on in his head. "How many other people know about this?" he finally asked.

The Lieutenant shook his head. "Not many. The detective I know out there, by the name of Ashburton, said that only two other people in his precinct know who she really is but that they're keeping that information to themselves for the time being. David called me first because he knew I'd keep the affair quiet while directing him to whoever was still in charge of the case; luckily for us both that person still happens to be me—until I retire, that is."

"Until you retire," the reporter echoed somberly.

"Dave also has a reason to keep this hushed up; he wants her to stand trial in Phoenix and doesn't want to hand her over to the Metropolis court system."

Clark stared ahead of him at a spot on the desk and absently nodded his head. "Of course; he wants to seek justice for those wronged by her out there."

The older man looked longingly at the fishing reel propped up against his desk then back at his friend, the decision all but made for him. "The fish'll still be biting a few weeks from now—there's no need to rush out the door and leave this mess to whoever they send up the ranks."

"Al?" the reporter asked, his voice unintentionally squeaking as he spoke.

"You're going to need help on this one, Clark, and don't think I don't know that. You want to talk to her, right? Maybe confront her about her part in the whole thing?"

"Talk to her, yes; confront her, no. I made my peace insofar as Katherine was concerned years ago." He spoke the words but Al doubted the veracity behind them. "But I do have questions for her you're absolutely right about that."

Al flashed him a knowing grin. "Well alright then, good, now here's what we'll do. I'll put my retirement on hold indefinitely until we sort this whole thing out and you and Lois hightail it out to Arizona; I don't know how long Ashburton can keep this thing under wraps before the press get a hold of it—present company excluded, of course—and that way you can have your talk with her."

"Al, are you sure?" Clark asked, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice. "I know how much you were looking forward to getting out of here…"

"Can it, Kent, I've made up my mind and I'm staying. Conley was right, the precinct wouldn't know what to do without their resident fossil." The two shared an awkward chuckle.

"I wouldn't call you a fossil."

"Hey now, haven't you heard? I was walking around with the dinosaurs back in the day if you listen to the cadets talk; at sixty-six years of age I'm ancient to these kids!"

Metropolis, February 15, 2019, 5:28 pm. Lois followed her husband home to their apartment that evening, wondering at his odd behavior during the course of the afternoon. She knew better than to question him in the middle of the bullpen about what was bothering him, but that didn't stop her from confronting him the moment the front door was closed.

"What's been going on with you? Ever since we left Al's party you've had this look like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop…what did he say to you when you were alone in his office that's got you so tense?" She plopped her purse down on the armchair and followed him through to the dining room where Haley sat going over her homework, legs swinging back and forth beneath the chair. "Oh God, he's not dying, is he?" she blurted out, greatly distressed.

"No, he's not dying, Al's fine, it's…" His eyes roved over his daughter and then at his son as the lanky teenager passed through the room to get to the television. "Son, do you have any plans tonight?"

"Uhhh…" the boys eyes darted back and forth in his head. "Yeah, I was going to go catch a movie with the guys, why?"

His father placed his glasses on the table and tugged his jacket off his shoulders. "I wanted to take your mother out to discuss something and was wondering if you could watch your sister; no matter." Turning back to his wife he added, "I'll give Jim and Chloe a call, see if they can't watch Haley for us for a little bit. We need to talk."

"Yes we do, but I don't see why…"

"Mom, can you help me?" Haley cried out, craning her head around to look at her mother with her math assignment clutched tightly in her hands.

"Just a minute, Hales." Lois turned her attention back to Clark only to find him on the phone talking to Chloe, trying to determine what time would be best to drop the little girl off at their apartment later in the evening.

Jason had just flopped down on the couch and turned the set on when his father called out to him.

"Son, do you have any plans tonight?"

"Uhhh…" His mind raced as he sought to reason why his father was asking him his plans in the first place. Maybe he wants to practice my powers with me? No, too obvious, um…maybe he wants to take Mom out? That's possible. Wait, if I say I have plans then I might be able to sneak away again. Bonus! "Yeah, I was going to go catch a movie with the guys, why?" he replied as nonchalantly as possible, hoping his dad wouldn't catch the lie.

He got away with it.

He was free. Again. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

Alright!

7:20 pm. Lois and Clark strolled down the hall of Jim and Chloe's apartment building each holding onto one of Haley's hands, the little girl beaming at the prospect of spending some quality time with her cousins. "I still don't understand why we couldn't discuss this at h—" Lois' speech was cut off by an ear-piercing shriek.

"MOMMY! THEY'RE HERE!" five year old Chris shouted as he poked his head out the door then darted back inside. Clark couldn't help but chuckle at his nephew's antics and watched through the walls as the blond-haired boy raced over to his mother by the breakfast table while Jim met them at the door.

"Christopher Ian Olsen, how many times have I told you not to leave the apartment! That's it young man, you're in time-out until I say otherwise!" Chloe's voice greeted them as they entered.

"But MOMMY!" the child cried out on the verge of tears, "I didn't leave the 'partment, I just looked to see if Haley was here!" The sobs now wracked his small body as his mother led him to the stool in the corner.

"I don't care," she replied, bending over as she seated him. "You still know what you did was wrong and so you're going to have to stay right here until your father and I think you've learned your lesson."

"Sorry about this, guys," Jim announced as they stepped into the apartment. Clark helped Haley take off her coat without bothering with his own, and the little girl made straight for her cousin in time out just as the twins entered the room. "But you know how it is."

"Don't worry, Chrissy," Haley said soothingly, holding his hand and stroking the back of it in a tender, motherly fashion. "We can still play when you get out."

His lower lip quivered as he spoke. "R-Really? Abby said you c-couldn't…"

"Yeah," the girl in question cried out, "We're going to play shoe store, and there are no boys allowed!" She made a face and stuck her tongue out at her baby brother.

"Hey!" Tommy, shouted. "What about me? You said I could be the shoe salesman!"

Chloe made her way over to the door in the midst of World War III, rolling her eyes at the insanity as she gave each of her friends a hug. All four adults turned in the direction of the ensuing squabble.

"You sure you guys still want to do this?" Clark asked as he eyed the gathering storm in the corner of the living room.

"Yeah," Jim replied good-naturedly, chucking him on the shoulder. "Besides, it's too late to take any of them back—the stork's up and flown the coop!"

"Jimmy!" Chloe scoffed teasingly, her husband drawing her into an embrace before another shout drew all their attention to the kids again.

Clark and Lois turned back to the door. "Alright then, if you're sure," Lois replied, glancing once more at her daughter holding court and trying to mediate an Olsen children fracas. "We won't be gone any longer than we need to be."

"Take your time, we'll be right here," Chloe replied with a wave of her hand, shutting the door behind them. Lois turned her attention back to her husband as they once again found themselves in the hallway.

"Now will you tell me what's going on?"

"Not until we're a bit further north." He took her by the hand and led her away from the elevator and over to the stairwell.

"Up north? What? Why—?" But Clark scooped her up in his arms before she had a chance to finish her questions, too eager to tell her his most pressing news.

7:06 pm. Jason sat in a plush armchair in the corner coffee shop across the street from his building, watching his parent's and sister pile into a cab and waiting to see if they would double back and return. Just a few more minutes to make sure they don't double back and I'm off. He sipped on his hot chocolate as the cab pulled away from the curb, a devilish smile tugging at the corners of his lips. When fifteen minutes passed without any sign of his folks—by land or by air—Jason decided it was time to get a move on. He rose from his seat and deposited the empty cup in the trash before striding out the door and briskly crossing the street.

It felt odd to be in the apartment by himself at that hour; not that he hadn't been left home alone before—he'd been left to his own devices or asked to babysit his sister plenty of times—but this time was different. This time he wasn't supposed to be home at all. The place was dark and quiet as he slipped his key in the front door and Jason was careful not to turn on any lights lest his parents return home unexpectedly and catch him in the act—he wanted to leave as few signs of his presence as possible.

He didn't dawdle but promptly locked the front door behind him and made his way to the living room window, opening it and sticking his head out to peer at the alleyway below. They'd been fortunate with this apartment—it had multiple windows overlooking the alley and facing an opposing brick wall, giving the Kents easy access to come and go and defy gravity as they pleased. Jason was especially grateful for this now as he stepped out onto the ledge and took off toward the sky.

Just like before he hovered over the apartment building inhaling the crisp clean air of the empty space around him. He waited only a moment before checking the digital watch on his wrist staring at it determinedly, a man with a plan. Ok, no sightseeing, I'm on a mission. I have to circumnavigate the globe and be as fast as Dad which means—he did the math in his head—I have to get back here in under seven minutes. The teenager licked his lips uneasily; it had taken him nearly six times as long on his last global trek and he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it back within the frame he'd given himself.

"Nothing ventured nothing gained," he muttered, using one of his mother's oft-repeated phrase. One last quick look below and he sped off into the west.

7:26 pm. "What are we doing here, Clark?" Lois asked, her breath fogging before her as he lowered them through the rooftop opening of the Fortress. She shuddered involuntarily at the dark remnants of the palace around her; it reminded her of a tomb.

He set her down on her feet and walked a short distance away, turning his back on her to look at the area of the dead console. "They found Katherine Kowalski," he said quietly.

"Kowalski? As in Lex Luthor's girlfriend!" she shouted, her face falling. All Clark could do was nod. "Well where the hell is she? Is she dead? No? Well she'll wish she was once I get my miserable hands on her..."

"Lois, it was a long time ago, I've made my peace with it," he cut in, finally turning to face her. An overwhelming sadness lingered about his eyes as he recalled the turn of events involving the woman that led to Luthor's creation of New Krypton.

It was all she could do to stop herself and just glare at him. "You've made your peace with it? That's a load of bull! She may not have been the brains behind the scheme but she's still an accomplice to Luthor's crime and I, for one, don't intend to let her get away with what she did to you OR what she did to me and Jason!" She put her hands on her hips, elbows cocked out at her sides, looking more like she was admonishing one of their children than having a conversation with her husband. "Or have you forgotten how we both almost died on that godforsaken yacht!"

That last blow was low, even she knew that, and Lois watched with eyes full of regret as he shuddered over what might have happened had he been just a few seconds late.

"She's afraid of me."

His voice was barely audible but the stillness of the Arctic air let Lois hear every word clear as a bell. "What?"

"Katherine was caught out in Arizona for another crime and she's fighting extradition. She doesn't want to come back to Metropolis because she fears what I might do to her if she returns." Looking away, and speaking more to himself then to her, he added, "As if I would ever…"

Suddenly Lois felt his pain very acutely; he'd always striven to be a symbol of hope, especially in the aftermath of his brutal captivity where he'd had to struggle so hard to overcome his own pain and negative thoughts and be the man he was born to be. Kitty's very vocal fears proved that he was not as successful as he'd hoped. "What was she arrested for?" Lois asked, hoping to draw his attention away from the other woman's unjustified alarm.

Clark heaved a sigh. "She's been living as a con artist swindling people out of their savings."

"Oh."

He glanced down into her face now that her indignant rage had subsided and spoke to her with measured words. "I want to talk to her, Lois; I need to know how they got in here, what they learned about me and my past, and most importantly find out what happened to the rest of the crystals. Did Luthor use them all to create New Krypton? If so then they're lost to me but what if he took them with him after he escaped? Where are they now? Kitty may not know but I need to take this chance to ask her myself and see if I can get a little piece of my home back." He craned his neck around and looked longingly at the console once more—he may have disagreed with Jor-el more then once but the more he watched Jason and Haley grow up the more he wished he could have his biological father and mother's guidance when it came to teaching them about their abilities and their shared history.

"Hey," she called out, taking his chin gently in her hands and re-directing his gaze. "Home is wherever we are: you, me and the kids, you got that?" Lois brought her hand down and let it rest over his jacket against his heart. "But that doesn't mean I don't understand what you lost that day and how it's haunted you, especially knowing how much Jason and Haley could have benefited too. We'll go talk to Kitty together, ok?" He nodded feebly and leaned in for a hug, the world's greatest hero becoming putty in her hands. "It'll all work out the way it's supposed to," she whispered soothingly, arms wrapped around his neck. "It'll all work out the way it's supposed to."