Chapter Six

Lance sat in his room, working on his homework. He had not gotten very far. He kept thinking about what Lana had said. He tried hard to remember her, but he was coming up blank. It was not as though he kept a record of all the girls he had been involved with, but he had a pretty decent memory. Better than decent in fact. He never forgot anything. But he could not remember her. Clearly, however their encounter had gone, and he could only imagine, she was still pretty bitter about it. He kept thinking about what she had said. "Not that there was all that much to remember." He knew what that meant, and while she was probably just trying to mess with him, he still felt bitter about the implication. It was offensive, really. He was exceptionally memorable. He was so memorable, in fact, that he had had quite a few stalkers in his day. He knew she had to be lying, but he could not stand that particular lie. He decided to do a full-scale background check on the girl, find out all the times she had left Smallville, where she had been, and anytime they could have possibly crossed paths.

"Working hard?" he heard Lex say. He growled. "I assume that is homework of some sort. It must be hell having to go to school with a bunch of hicks who hate you for your money."

"Well, it's better than hating me for being follicley challenged."

Lex's face fell a little, "Not your most creative."

"Well, why not use what works?"

"You're off your game."

"I just have more important things to do than playing."

"Such as?"

"How is it that you are six years older and yet I am the mature one?"

"You're not mature, you're a kiss up. And don't think that means dad won't screw you over when it suits him."

Lance rolled his eyes. He knew Lex was just trying to get to him, but he never would. That was the difference between the two, Lex had too much of his mother in him, too much heart. He let his emotions rule him. That made it easier to get under his skin, but Lance did not have time for something like this. He was busy, and he was tired. Walking away would make Lex think he had gotten to him, so all he could do was try to ignore him and hope the Lex would eventually lose interest.

Chloe headed over to the Smallville cemetery. She always went this time of year, on the anniversary. It was not the most uncommon practice. And there was not anybody else t visit the grave. Not that Chloe minded. In fact, it made her feel close to him, and less guilty that she had not been there. When Chloe had first moved to Smallville and started the Smallville Middle School Paper, she had only had one staff member, Pete Ross. Pete had been assigned to show her around, and while he pretended he was a ladies man, Chloe knew he had never even been on a date. Anyway, he was funny, and sweet, and a good friend. The two had become best friends very quickly.

The longer Chloe had lived in Smallville, the more aware she had become of the strange things that tended to happen around here. She and Pete had worked to expose the extraterrestrial nature of the town, and they found themselves in some pretty dangerous situations. Chloe had a bed reserved at the hospital. She had spent more time there, in the operation room, in a hospital bed recuperating, or comatose, than she had anywhere else. She had almost died more times than she could count, and she had had a million blood transfusions. Pete had also had some trouble. They helped each other out of scrapes as much as they could, but they were only human. When Pete had been killed, Chloe had still been in a coma. She did not find out until she woke up a week in a half later. The funeral had been over by then. Chloe had not gotten to sit with him when the doctors were trying to fix him, or when the men from the cemetery had lowered his body into the soil. She had not had the opportunity to say goodbye.

After Pete's passing, the Ross's had moved away, unable to take living in Smallville anymore. There had been more deaths. Chloe had tried to stop them, but she had always been to late. What Smallville needed was a guardian angel, but something like that was just a fairytale, Chloe knew, and it was all she could do to try and expose dangers through her writing. Nobody ever believed them, even with all the proof she would publish. Still, she persevered, hoping one day she might save somebody, even though she could not save Pete. She was getting a little tired of being the girl who cried wolf, but if she could make a difference, it would be worth it. She owed it to Pete; he had been the only one to believe her, other than her father of course. She really wished she could have saved him.

"Hey Pete." She said, "It's that time of year again. I've missed you." She never really knew what to say; the whole talking to the dead really was not her thing. It should be, after all, most everyone she knew was dead or gone. Pete was dead, her connections kept dying, her friends, her enemies. That was why she did not really make friends anymore, at least, not unless there was a purpose. And with Lance Luthor, there was a purpose. She considered telling Pete about Lance, but thought better of it. She was pretty sure she was alone, but one could never be too sure, and she did not think she wanted to risk it. So, she just sat there, and let herself cry.

What could the Luthor's possibly want with Smallville? That was what he wanted to know. They had a financial stake in the land, but that had been true for years. No, Lionel was planning something, and he was going to find out what.

He leaned forward and called to the pilot.

"Change of plans. Plot a course for Smallville Kansas."

The driver nodded, "Yes sir." He said, and they were off.

Lex sat at his desk, going over what he had found. Apparently, his brother was spending a large amount of his time researching the background of a local girl, a Miss Lana Lang. He knew that she was the niece of Nell Potter, whom his father had had quite a few successful business dealings with, but aside from that, there did not appear to be anything particularly fascinating about the girl. He had not the slightest clue what Lance's interest in her was, but if Lance was interested, so was he.

He headed to the local library, grabbed a book off the shelves, and searched for the girl whose picture he had found on the computer. He admitted that she was certainly attractive, if a little young. But then, eighteen was not all that young, was it?

"Hello, mind if I sit here?" he said casually as he motioned to the seat across from her.

She smiled, "Be my guest."

Lex reclined and opened a book he had picked up. He had decided to pick up The Art of War by Sun Tzu. He had read it so many times he had the book memorized, freeing up his attention for conversation. He glanced over at Lana and read the title of the book she was reading.

"School Assignment?" he asked casually.

Lana looked up and followed his eyes. "No, actually. Pleasure."

"I'm surprised. That's a pretty complicated book."

"Are you assuming that I lack intelligence and depth because I'm a girl, or because I'm in high school? Not that it matters, I would just like to know how to take the insult." Lana said, then smiled humorously.

"Are you always this blunt with people you've only just met?"

"Was I being blunt?" Lana asked with a smirk.

Lex laughed. "Well, you're funny, I'll give you that." Maybe this would not be a complete waste of time after all.