The Moment He Knew

by MissBri84

AU - What if Oliver had listened to Clark in "Bride" and waited until after the wedding to track down Lex? Rating: The first few chapters will be K but later on they will become M.

10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own neither Smallville nor Superman. They belong to people and companies far greater than I. The characters are just really fun to play with when borrowed. I stole the character Vanessa Abrams from Gossip Girl who belongs to The CW, but she is a couple years older in this fic because it is just more appropriate.

SPOILER ALERT: This story is loosely based on "Bride." If you haven't seen this episode yet, I wouldn't read this until you have, unless you don't care.

Rating: This chapter is rated T, though, as promised, eventually it will become M

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback and encouragement! Especially to Superlc529 – you ROCK!!! Thanks to for providing me with the song lyrics and to for helping me with the color meanings.

The Moment He Knew

Chapter 10 – The Perfect Night

Oliver's P.O.V.

Oliver had watched silently as Lois and Clark finally admitted their love for one another to each other. He watched as the two kissed for the first time, just a chaste brush, before jumping back from one another. He wondered what it felt like to have so much chemistry with someone, that just a brush of the lips made you go all weak in the knees and set your pulse racing like crazy, so that all you could do in response was stare at that other special person in awe. He watched as they moved in to explore this more thoroughly, noticing that the kissing couple was floating. Floating?! He was completely and utterly mind-blown. Clark hadn't told him that he could fly! That must have been some kiss if it was making Clark do things he normally wasn't capable of. Half of Oliver wanted to go on letting the two of them float in sheer bliss, but the other half, the half that was crying out in the most terrible pain at the sight of them than he could have ever imagined, erred on the side of logic. Only a handful of people in the room knew about Clark's abilities and he was guessing that Lois wasn't one of them . . . now was not the time for a mass-introduction to the real Clark Kent, as unhappy as his otherworldly friend might be about being brought, figuratively and literally, back down to Earth. Oliver walked at a brisk pace and lingered near the two, watching to make sure no one noticed the six inches of space between Clark's dress shoes and Lois' high heels and the floor. He was close enough to hear every word the happy couple exchanged once their lips finally parted, grimacing despite himself when he heard Lois promise herself to Clark 'always and forever.' He hadn't expected that hearing those words come out of her mouth would be so damned painful. Politely, he cleared his throat, catching the lovebirds' attention and noticing even more painfully that as they noticed his presence it was like they were coming out of a world that belonged solely to the two of them.

"I hate to bring you two back down to Earth," Oliver said, quietly, literally, "but I think only the bride and groom have groping privileges at the wedding itself. It'd be more . . . tasteful if the two of you waited just a smidgeon longer until after the wedding's through."

Clark absorbed Oliver's words meaningfully, noticing for the first time that he and Lois were floating a good half a foot off the ground. He smiled awkwardly and gratefully at the blond billionaire for letting him know that he was uncharacteristically displaying his gifts to the uninformed public. Slowly but surely the bottoms of the couples shoes landed noiselessly on the wood of the floor, Lois so happy she was in a haze of bliss that prevented her from noticing the light touch to the ground. It took her a little longer to come out of the haze, Oliver noticed, than it had Clark, mostly because she didn't understand his double-edged words.

"Man, Ollie," she huffed, her cheeks pink from passion as she glared at him, "You really know how to kill a moment!"

"Sorry," Ollie apologized genuinely, unwelcome memories of when he'd been the one to make her cheeks flush pink with passion nudging their way to the forefront of his mind, "It's just that you were kind of feeling each other up and there's a guy filming this entire shindig . . . If I remember correctly, you're not one who likes to be caught on videotape doing that sort of thing."

"Oh!" Lois blushed three shades pinker than she already was, and this time she was genuinely thankful to her ex, "Thanks . . . I uh . . . I totally forgot all about that," she smiled awkwardly and hid her face in Clark's chest in embarrassment.

"Just an idea," Oliver suggested, "but why don't you two go around and reintroduce yourselves?"

"Reintroduce ourselves?" Clark questioned, his cheeks pink also, partly from passion and partly from Oliver's revelation about Lois not liking to be videotaped during sexual situations, not understanding what Oliver meant.

It was Oliver's turn for his cheeks to flush, "I wasn't trying to pry or anything, I swear," he admitted, giving Clark a look that told him he was simply watching out for him, "but I kind of heard everything you said to each other. When I say 'reintroduce' I mean going around to all the people you love and reintroduce yourselves as a couple . . . that's what you are now, right?"

"Um . . . yeah," Clark said, a bit uncomfortably, not because he and Lois were now a couple, but that his best friend and her most important ex-love had overheard their private words.

Ollie just nodded several times; trying to make the situation the least awkward it could become and desperately attempted to stop his heart from its unexpected aching.

"That's actually a good idea," Lois stated, pleased, "It'll give everyone some time to get used to the idea of me and Smallville . . . you know, together."

The heartache Oliver felt went away for a brief moment as he barked out a laugh and smiled at the two of them knowingly, "I hate to break it to you, Lo, but it's not going to be much of a surprise."

Lois gave him a funny look, obviously thinking that she had been a pro at covering up her feelings for Clark and not realizing just how transparent she'd really been, "That's crazy, Ollie . . . The only person who wouldn't be surprised is Jimmy and that's only because he's been trying to set us up for yearsnow."

Oliver laughed again, the pain he was feeling subsiding somewhat as he smiled at her, "That's true . . . Jimmy definitely won't be surprised, but the fact is you're not the actress you think you are, Lois. You've been so transparent about your feelings for Clark, I've known just as long as Jimmy, for even longer actually. Remember that comment I made the first time I encountered the two of you in the same room together all those years ago . . . it was there then, even though you only had eyes for other people . . . it was still there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to rear its ugly head."

"How poetic," Lois glowered at him, Was I really that awful at concealing my feelings? "Keep your day job, Ollie . . . and you're night one, too. You're no good at playing matchmaker."

Oliver laughed again, clutching at his stomach when he found he couldn't stop. He was the reason they were together now, though he figured it would have happened eventually without all his and Jimmy's interference, not to mention all the people they'd used as pawns in their little matchmaking chess game, most likely later rather than sooner.

"Actually Oliver," Clark gave the laughing billionaire a pointed look, "I'd kind of like to keep this under the rug for a little while if you don't mind keeping quiet."

"Anything you want," Oliver promised, "I'm just happy the two of you finally figured it out . . . I told you I'd be here when you did," and Ollie was happy for them, he realized it as he said the words, the ache in his chest slowly but surely dissipating to a dull throbbing he couldn't explain. He smiled, nodded, and squeezed each of them on the shoulder to show his support, "but you have to remember that I might not have been the only one who caught your little grope fest."

Lois and Clark nodded. Lois looked at Clark like she was hurt by his wanting to keep their relationship a secret for the time being. Ollie left the 'Man of Steel' to deal with his new girlfriend and what possibly would end up being their first fight as he made his way toward the bride and groom. Sure he'd promised Clark that he'd keep quiet but he couldn't very well ignore the other half of the team that had so expertly maneuvered the stubborn lovebirds into the same nest.

"Hey Olsen!" Oliver called, getting the attention of not one but two people, Chloe trying to get used to answering to the last name that was now hers. She and Jimmy met Oliver halfway.

"Just so you know, I'll be going by Sullivan-Olsen," Chloe informed him brightly, her smile matching her tone as she tried the two names together and liked what she heard.

"Noted," Oliver said genially, but turned his attention to the male half of the duo, "Project Clois is officially a success," he grinned wickedly at the groom, "Just thought you'd want to know."

"No way!" Jimmy exclaimed, his smile, which already matched Chloe's, widened as he took in the news of their victory.

"Project Clois?" Chloe questioned, giving the two men a suspicious look.

"Your husband and I have been scheming all day trying to get Lois and Clark to finally admit their feelings for one another and get together," Oliver explained.

"And it worked?!" Chloe screeched excitedly, if it was even possible for her to get more excited.

"It was a raging success," Oliver admitted smiling, though not as brightly as he would have liked.

"They're together?!" Chloe and Jimmy squealed in unison.

"I heard him ask her to be his girlfriend with my own two ears," Ollie told them, "But Clark has requested that I keep their relationship quiet for a little while, so the two of you had better stop squealing or the cat'll be out of the bag and I'll be the one who has to deal with Lois' wrath."

"I can't believe it worked!" Jimmy crowed, happy for his cousin-in-law and best man. "You know, you were the one that really made it happen and I'm not talking about all the strategic dance partners you arranged for them all evening. If you hadn't nearly kissed Lois, Clark never would have gotten jealous enough to finally do something about his feelings," the groom observed, praising him.

Chloe looked a little more closely at her friend and noticed that he wasn't quite as psyched as Jimmy was at Lois and Clark's union; in fact, Oliver looked a little sad and lost, like he didn't really know what to do with himself, something she'd never seen in him before.

"But you didn't do that part on purpose, did you?" She voiced her observation out loud, putting her hand comfortingly on Ollie's back. "You really wanted to kiss her, didn't you?"

"Am I that translucent?" Oliver queried, letting his face fall a little more now that he knew someone was onto him.

"No," Chloe rushed in, trying not to make him feel bad as Jimmy blatantly stared at him in amazement, "I just know you . . . are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Oliver assured her, "I wanted this . . . it was my idea . . . but when I saw her face when she was watching Lana and Clark together all these old feelings just sort of hit me and I couldn't help myself . . . so I did the one thing that I could never do for her before . . . I was there . . . I didn't leave her behind . . . I've always regretted leaving her, but she's not the one for me . . . It'll just take a little while for me to get used to seeing the two of them together as a couple but I really am happy for them."

"I believe you," Chloe comforted him, "It's always hard to see someone you love with someone else," she looked to Jimmy and then stared straight at Kara so he would understand she was talking about him and not her old crush on Clark, ". . . even if you don't really love them anymore . . . you'll find the right person, Ollie, I know you will," she stated, incredibly sure of herself.

"I'm glad you think so," Oliver told her, "because after watching you and Jimmy and then seeing Lois and Clark together . . . I'll be lucky to find someone I have half as much chemistry with as all of you do."

"What about Dinah?" Chloe suggested, raising her eyebrows.

"Dinah is," he paused, trying to find the right word for her, ". . . a top notch woman. Any man would be lucky to have her, but our witty banter is just what it appears to be and nothing more . . . it's not like Lois and Clark where they go back and forth with each other under the guise of fighting when it's really code for flirting . . . there's no spark there . . . but she's great at her job," Oliver continued, giving Chloe a special look that indicated he wasn't referring to her radio show.

Chloe wasn't the first person to propose a possible hook up with the only female member of The Justice League. He'd had it hinted at him by Bart, Victor, and A.C., but everything he'd just told 'Watchtower' was true . . . their banter wasn't code for anything, but two hard headed people butting their two very thick skulls together.

"Just be patient, man," Jimmy said soothingly, "The right woman will come along and when she does you'll know it because she'll totally knock you on your ass."

"Is that what I did, Mr. Olsen?" Chloe dug at her new husband, a playful look on her face. "Did I knock you on your ass?"

"Babe, I'm still on the floor," Jimmy admitted with a laugh, his tone of voice a testament to his truth.

~*~

Clark's P.O.V.

"Actually Oliver," Clark gave the laughing billionaire a pointed look, "I'd kind of like to keep this under the rug for a little while if you don't mind keeping quiet."

"Anything you want," Oliver promised, "I'm just happy the two of you finally figured it out . . . I told you I'd be here when you did," and Ollie was happy for them, he realized it as he said the words, the ache in his chest slowly but surely dissipating to a dull throbbing he couldn't explain. He smiled, nodded, and squeezed each of them on the shoulder to show his support, "but you have to remember that I might not have been the only one that caught your little grope fest."

Lois and Clark nodded. Lois looked at Clark like she was hurt by his wanting to keep their relationship a secret for the time being. Ollie left the 'Man of Steel' to deal with his new girlfriend and what possibly would end up being their first fight.

"I don't understand, Smallville," Lois voiced her distaste at the idea of keeping their relationship a secret for even a millisecond. She was all for shouting it from the rooftops . . . she, Lois Lane, had gotten the happy ending and she wanted to share it with the world, "Why would you want to keep us a secret?"

"Let's go somewhere more private," Clark suggested, wary of her insecure tone. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops as well, but there was a certain thing he'd wanted to do before he confessed his feelings for her; unfortunately, things had gotten screwed up . . . she'd nearly kissed Oliver and it had made him go crazy and tell her he was in love with her before she knew the truth about him, which was backward to how he'd wanted it. He started to head toward the Loft, but Lois shook her head. He furrowed his eyebrows at her in confusion.

She shook her head from side to side like a pendulum, debating whether or not she wanted to taint the first few minutes of their happiness together with her name, but in the end she had to.

"Lana," she told him, motioning to the Loft with a quick jerk of her head and he nodded as he comprehended her meaning. He focused his hearing for a moment and heard gut-wrenching sobs coming from his private place, and felt momentarily guilty for causing her so much pain even though she'd caused him ten times more. He recovered quickly though, refocusing all of his attention on Lois, how it should always have been.

"How about a nice evening walk?" He proposed, sticking his arm out for her to slip hers through, which she happily did.

When they got outside they headed toward the Kent house, sitting on the wicker bench on the porch. Clark figured it was as good a place as any to come clean about his desire to keep their relationship secret for a little while.

"So tell me, Smallville," Lois started, trying not to sound hurt, "Why do you want to keep us a secret?"

Clark paused for a long while, trying to choose the right words and fit them together in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings or make her angry with him . . . needless to say, it was a slippery slope.

"You don't understand," he began, his voice steady and unapologetic, "It's not that I want to keep us a secret, Lois. I'd gladly fly to the moon and burn "Clark Kent loves Lois Lane" into the surface in bold letters for the whole world to see, but I wasn't expecting for things to happen the way they did."

"What do you mean?" Lois searched his eyes, trying to understand.

"I've been confused about you and me for a long time," Clark confessed, tugging at his hands in his lap as he said words he was hoping he'd never have to say. Lois reached out and grabbed one of his hands, interlacing their fingers and effectively calming him down and turning him on at the same time, "I didn't realize it until today, but I've been in love with you for a while . . . maybe as long as Oliver says . . . maybe even longer than that," he told her, remembering his senior year of high school when she'd first breezed into town and Lana, having been with Jason Teague at the time, had made a similar comment as Oliver had, assuming they were a couple, "But even though I could never put a label on what I felt toward you until today, I had . . . thoughts."

"Thoughts?" Lois repeated, vaguely wondering if they were the kinds of thoughts she'd been having since she'd first realized she felt more toward him than just friendship . . . she'd had all kinds of thoughts and many of them had been X-rated.

"Yes . . . thoughts," he confirmed, though not whether or not any of them had been dirty ones.

"What kinds of thoughts?" She couldn't bear not to ask now that the topic had been thrown on the table.

"Lots of different kinds," he admitted, and she could see his blush in the rusty orange-pink of the dusk that was quickly fading in the sky, welcoming night, "Some of which are not important . . . I mean they are important . . . just not right now," he said embarrassed, answering her unspoken innuendo about any of his thoughts being dirty.

"Okay," Lois said, her pulse racing and her center getting wet just at the acknowledgment that he'd fantasized about her the way she'd fantasized about him.

"Mostly, these thoughts were about how I was going to tell you . . . how I was going to tell you the truth about," he was going to say 'me,' but now wasn't the time for that conversation, ". . . whether or not I felt the line between friendship and romance had been blurred between you and me . . . and let me tell you, all the times I imagined having this conversation with you it went a hell of a lot differently."

"Different how?" She was begging for answers now because she could tell he wanted to come clean about something, she just wasn't sure what . . . maybe it was the thing he and his mother and father, when he was still alive, used to get quiet about whenever she entered the room to find them conversing in quiet tones when she'd lived with them all those years ago. Maybe it would finally explain why the first time they'd met, he'd been stark naked in the middle of a cornfield with a classic case of amnesia.

"Well," he started, ". . . usually it involved casual clothing and a home-cooked meal with some wine to break the ice . . . which, despite the fancy clothing, is how it's gone down . . . but it was usually just you and me in the Loft, my 'Fortress of Solitude,' as my dad used to call it . . . There's something I've been keeping from you . . . something that could change your mind about wanting to be with me."

"Clark," she took his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eyes, "Smallville . . . there isn't a thing on this Earth that could change my mind about wanting to be with you . . . nothing, nothing could ever keep me from loving you . . . not even if you weren't even from Earth," she said, not because she had any clue about his secret, just because she wanted to demonstrate exactly how much she cared for him.

Clark laughed as he looked into her eyes, smiling and blushing at the truth of her statement, realizing she'd just told herself his secret and being none the wiser.

"Nothing could change how I feel about you either," he proclaimed, covering her hands with his, "But that doesn't change the fact that you don't know everything about me and the truth . . . no matter what you say now could change your mind. I wanted you to know it before I told you I love you so that you could make an informed decision."

"An informed decision? You make it sound like you're dying of cancer or something," Lois' eyes widened, wondering if maybe he really was sick after all the times she'd seen him look weak and unhealthy, though now that she thought about it he usually always looked sick when he was around the meteor rocks. Maybe he was meteor infected, only they didn't drive him crazy or gave him super powers, they were literally killing him.

"I'm not dying," Clark assured her, "But what I have to say is life-altering . . . it would affect you . . . it will affect you if you decide to be with me once you know everything . . . I wasn't counting on today . . . I had no idea when I woke up this morning that my confusion would clear and I'd realize that I'm in love with you . . . I also had no idea that seeing you dance with so many different men would make my blood boil with jealousy . . . or that seeing you in Oliver's arms about to kiss him would drive me so crazy that I just couldn't keep my feelings to myself . . . I was supposed to tell you all my secrets first before I told you I love you and then ask you if you wanted to be with me, not the other way around."

"It doesn't matter to me what order things come in, Clark," Lois insisted, their hands still holding his head in place so she could look him in his beautiful blue eyes, ". . . all that matters is that you tell me . . . that you trust me with your secrets . . . you could tell me now . . . or if you need time to get yourself together before you unveil whatever it is you're hiding from me I'm fine with it . . . as long as eventually you trust me enough to tell me the truth."

"I will tell you eventually," Clark promised her, ". . . I'm not afraid or ashamed of you knowing the truth even if you never talk to me again because of it . . . I'd even tell you now but I think that might be rude of me to do in the middle of my best friend and your cousin's wedding, which is why I'd like to keep us a secret for now."

"Because of Chloe and Jimmy's wedding? Tonight is a tribute to romantic bliss, which I was definitely experiencing until Oliver came and spoiled it. Why would that stop you from telling me the truth and, more importantly, why would it make you want to hide our relationship if you love me as much as I know you do?"

"Self-preservation," Clark hated to admit it, but he was being selfish. "If I told you the truth now after I already bore my heart and soul to you and everyone found out that you and I are a couple . . . let's just say if the truth changed your mind and you didn't want to be with me because of it and things between us ended . . . I couldn't handle everyone knowing about us and then there not being an us to know about if my secret changes your mind. If no one knows we're together, I can suffer in silence if you decide to break things off once you know the truth," he broke eye contact, ripping his head out of her grasp so that he could look anywhere but at her.

"Wow," Lois breathed, suddenly knocked on her ass at the realization of just how much he cared, "You really do love me."

"Yes," Clark nodded, "I wasn't lying when I told you you're my soul mate . . . If everyone knew and I lost you . . . well, I just couldn't bear it . . . so I was hoping that we could have this night . . . this one perfect night together where it's just you and me and all that's between us is how much we love each other."

"I understand now," Lois nodded back, sad that he was so afraid he was going to lose her when she found out the truth, "How about a dance out here where no one can see us . . . the music is loud enough . . . let's have our perfect night . . . then we'll just go back to the barn and act like normal, just Lois and Smallville . . . What do you say?"

"We don't need music," Clark gazed at her, all the love he felt shining in his eyes as he stood and held his hand out to her. She took it without hesitation and he pulled her close to him, angling his head downward so they were dancing cheek to cheek, "I love you Lois Joanne Lane . . . no matter what happens always remember that."

Her smile was bittersweet as she clung to him and they danced, holding each other close for three songs straight and enjoyed the love they felt toward one another. At the end of the third song Clark pulled his head away from hers and kissed her, knowing that this might be the last time he ever got to. It was the sweetest kiss he'd ever known, making him even more certain that their love was that pure, sweet, soul mate kind of love that his mother and father had had.

Lois pulled away after several minutes of his sweet kisses, still holding his hand as she angled herself toward the barn, "Back to reality?"

Clark just nodded, he couldn't speak . . . with everything that was on the line he simply couldn't find his voice. He allowed her to lead him back to the barn without resistance even though his body was crying out for more of her . . . he couldn't get enough, but this had to be enough . . . for now anyway.

~*~

Kara's P.O.V.

In all her experiences on the planet Earth, Kara had never been to something quite so happy or sappy. Everywhere people were smiling and laughing and talking like they were best friends who hadn't seen each other in years and had so much to catch up on they could barely get the words out of their mouths fast enough. The last time she'd been to such a joyful celebration it had been just her, her Aunt Lara and her Uncle Jor-El and the occasion had been the birth of Kal-El – the cute, chubby baby boy who laughed adorably when one tickled his feet. She gazed at the man, at what that cute, chubby baby boy had become, and she sort of lost herself in the oddness of it all. He was older than she was though it should have been the opposite, even if it was only by a couple of years. It still shocked her when she remembered she'd spent eighteen years in limbo in her space ship in a dam.

Kara was eternally grateful to Kal-El for releasing her from The Phantom Zone and that she could enjoy such a wonderful party full of happy guests celebrating the union of two people she genuinely cared for. Weddings had been just like this on Krypton only brides didn't wear white wedding dresses, preferring to wear their house's chosen color or colors, and, believe it or not, the array of colors on her home planet was astronomically larger than that of Earth, and the higher up in class a family was, the more colors were assigned to that particular House. The House of El had had many many colors, but the only ones truly discernible here on Earth were red, blue, and yellow. There were others that came somewhat close to some of the ones her residence on Krypton in Kandor had been decorated with, but none of them ever came quite so close as what humans referred to as the primary colors. Just thinking about all the lost color made her sad but there was always a handsome young man showing up in front of her, talking, flirting, and eventually asking her to dance.

Dancing on Earth was exactly the same as on Krypton, mostly anyway, so she didn't have any trouble when she was invited to the dance floor, but she soon got bored with all the drooling that inevitably caused each of the handsome young men to overstep their bounds and do something completely out of line. It had taken all her will power not to launch each and every one of them to the moon with one giant thrust of her palms. She knew she was considered attractive on Earth, beautiful even, but was that really an excuse for a guy to slobber on her neck, grab her ass, or trace the slit of her dress up her long, lean thigh to places hands of suitable gentlemen were not supposed to go? The only decent guys she'd danced with were the groom himself, Oliver Queen, Clark's best friend from high school, and the guy that had saved her from falling stage equipment a year earlier, Pete Ross, and Victor Stone. She had avoided the human known as Bart Allen altogether after hearing stories about him from Chloe. Clark was too busy having some sort of internal crisis she suspected had something to do with Lois Lane to offer her a dance before, and then Lana had shown up and turned his crisis into an all out mental meltdown; needless to say, he still had yet to offer her a dance, which she was slightly hurt by. They were family after all, and family danced together at weddings, one thing she knew for sure was the same on Krypton as it was on Earth.

She smiled as she recalled her dance with Jimmy. They had caught each other's eye from across the room and he'd shrugged at her in that adorable way of his, silently asking if she wanted to dance with him. Clark had just been asked to the dance floor to join Chloe since he'd been her escort and, as on Krypton, the bride always danced with her escort.

"Hey Kara!" He greeted, flashing her a brilliant grin that only Jimmy Olsen could pull off, taking her in his arms without any awkwardness between them and dancing with practiced ease, "Chloe and I are really glad you made it. It was sweet of Clark to go all the way to Minnesota to deliver your invitation and make sure you came."

"Clark's sweet that way," Kara shrugged, cocking her head at him, "I wouldn't have missed this even though, technically, you were my first crush."

"Really?" Jimmy asked, surprised. She didn't know why he was shocked, he was a very attractive man even if it was in a boyish sort of way, "I was your first?"

"Yep," she admitted shamelessly, "but you and I could never have been the couple you and Chloe are."

It was his turn to shrug at her again, nodding, "She's the love of my life."

"That's obvious . . . you wouldn't have found your way back to each other if she wasn't," Kara agreed, comparing the way the newly united husband and wife lit up around each other to all the other couples she'd known who'd experienced true love. If only her father had felt the same way about her mother as he had about her aunt, the way Jimmy felt about Chloe.

"You're right," Jimmy admitted, his face showing a little bit of regret at sharing this with her of all people.

"You don't have to feel bad around me, Jimmy," she told him confidently, "We may have had some spark but it died out naturally . . . it never compared to the inferno you had for Chloe that was never completely quelled when you and I dated. I'm not sorry to be here celebrating your happiness with you . . . it would just be silly wishing someone you care about ill when they were clearly never meant for you anyway."

"Thanks for saying that, Kara," Jimmy blushed, "You look amazing by the way. I didn't know they made dresses that hot in Minnesota . . . of course Chloe is the most beautiful of them all today and everyday but you don't look half bad," he complimented, this time making Kara blush, "You're blushing . . . I forgot how cute you are when you do that . . . any luck with the men-folk back home?"

"No," Kara told him stoutly, "Not really looking for anybody to keep me warm at night right now . . . just concentrating on living my life without any family to back me up . . . it's the first time I've really been on my own," she added, not including her time in The Phantom Zone, ". . . it's kind of liberating . . . Besides, the last guy I dated set the standards pretty high."

Jimmy smiled and nodded, "It's good to have standards Kara. It may not have worked out between me and you but you deserve the best. I hope you find that special someone someday."

"I'm sure I will but I'm still young . . . there's still plenty of time for me to fight my way through the adoring masses of men and women to the one who's right for me," she said with a laugh. Jimmy had that effect on her whether they were dating or not, her laugh always came more freely around him . . . that's just the way it was.

"The adoring masses of men and women, huh?" Jimmy smirked, "Good luck with that."

Kara smiled at him, and put on a show of just how distressed she was from the stress of wading through her many suitors, sighing dramatically, "Thanks,I need it."

Jimmy chuckled and looked past her at Chloe dancing with Clark, noticing that their song was ending, "Sorry, babe, but I have a wife I've got to go dance with . . . If I stay away too long she might realize how dumb she was for agreeing to marry me in the first place."

"Chloe is anything but dumb, Jimmy," Kara chided him, even though he was only making a joke, "She's the smartest girl I know and she did good."

"Thanks . . . See you around," he said, licking his lips as he set his sights on his bride.

"Go get her, tiger," she teased as he dashed off excitedly toward his wife, leaving Kara chuckling at his eagerness.

The truth was that Clark had come to get her from Kandor, the last remaining city of Krypton, as it had been her home before the planet died. Upon discovering it still existed she'd instantly decided that that was the best place for her, but she didn't find the comfort in it that she'd thought she would. After three years of traveling through space to get to Earth and then spending eighteen years trapped in suspension within the confines of her ship she hadn't changed, but Kandor had. It wasn't at all like what she remembered and even though she lived among fellow Kryptonians and a host of different aliens from dozens of different galaxies, and the colors she loved so much that weren't available on Earth were there, she somehow felt more alien there than on Earth; not to mention the fact that, unlike on Earth, in Kandor she was powerless, and as much as she hated to admit it, she liked the powers the yellow sun gave her. It was exhilarating feeling to be able to hear a dog barking a mile away, to run faster than a speeding bullet, to shoot fire out of her eyes, and just fly away any time she felt like she needed to, even if it was just for the thrill of feeling the wind in her hair or to be that much closer to the stars. Being back in a familiar atmosphere, the Kent Farm, and around people she knew and loved felt more right than her old home did, so she'd made the decision to stay on Earth and only visit Kandor from time to time in case she ever got homesick for the red sun or the various colors she loved so much.

Here on Earth she could make a difference just like Clark did everyday . . . she could help people who, otherwise, could not help themselves. She knew that outwardly she appeared disinterested in the human race, but secretly she found them fascinating and if she could help them with the powers they were never destined to possess, then why not? It was the most logical existence she could come up with, not to mention the most fulfilling. Getting to meet and speak with Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother, who reminded her so much of her Aunt Lara, only helped solidify things in her mind. Her decision to remain on Earth was one of the reasons she was so eager for Clark to offer her a dance . . . she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she told him the news. He'd be a little put out by the idea she knew; she was aware of the fact that she'd been a handful when she'd first been unleashed from her ship, but her time in The Phantom Zone had changed her for the better, matured her in a way that no other experience could, and being on her own in Kandor had only deepened that maturity. She was no longer the petulant young woman who had been so eager to rebel when her baby cousin, who mind-bogglingly towered over her despite her impressive five foot seven and a half inch frame, told her what she ought to do and how to do it . . . she was just Kara now . . . a young woman with a purpose. She'd even discussed this purpose with Oliver Queen, smiling as she remembered their dance together.

Oliver had walked up to her just like so many other men of varying ages had that evening, only he was much more polite. He had manners and she appreciated a good-looking man with manners.

"Hello," he greeted her, his deep brown eyes overflowing with kindness. He smiled at her and her knees went a little bit weak, proving what Clark had told her so many times – that her time on Earth had made her human, had opened her up to human emotions and weaknesses, making her a unique cross of human and Kryptonian. Oliver was the only mortal besides Jimmy so far to have that kind of effect on her.

"Hi," she greeted back, smiling shyly as her knees regained their strength. She was a woman whose knees went a little weak at the sight of a beautiful man, but she certainly wasn't a normal woman and she refused to stay weak, though the restoration of strength to her knees was more due to physical attributes, Kryptonian ones, than her refusal to be mentally and emotionally vulnerable.

"I'm Oliver Queen," he introduced himself, "You're Clark's cousin Kara aren't you?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, "Yes, I'm Kara. How did you know I'm Clark's cousin . . . I'm fairly certain I'd remember if we'd met before."

Oliver blushed a little, smiling a half-smile that was endearing, "You have the same eyes and the color of your dress was kind of a dead give away . . . Clark told me you would be here and I know how much red he wears . . . you're the only girl in the room wearing a red dress and once I saw your eyes I just knew," he explained.

"No one's ever said that to me before," Kara revealed, no one had bothered to study her and Clark very closely, especially since he had dark hair and hers was light . . . people never really got past that part of the inspection, "I didn't know I had his eyes . . . he has his mother's eyes . . . it pleases me to know that I have a piece of my beloved aunt in me. Thank you."

"Rumor has it you look almost exactly like your Aunt Lara . . . Would you like to dance with me?" Oliver asked with easy confidence. She studied him for a moment, he was confident but not like all the other men that had approached her that evening, and he had manners – he wouldn't try anything inappropriate, she was almost certain.

"That would be nice . . . just as long as you promise to keep your hands to yourself," Kara told him, waiting to hear the words come out of his mouth before she accepted his proposal.

"I promise not to do anything that will make you uncomfortable," Oliver promised, his eyes sincere.

"Then I'll dance with you," Kara agreed, taking his proffered hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

He was a good dancer, they were well matched, and he kept his promise . . . he barely touched her waist and held her hand rather delicately. It took a little while for his earlier words to sink in but, eventually, what had been a very pleasant experience, became one of fight or flight for Kara – in her case fight. She pushed herself roughly away from Oliver, his words echoing in her head, "Rumor has it you look almost exactly like your Aunt Lara . . ."

"What's wrong? Did I do something to offend you?" Oliver hurried toward her, confused, but she backed away.

"How did you know that I look like my aunt . . . how did you know I have her eyes? How do you even know her name?" Kara demanded. Clark had never mentioned anything about any other humans knowing his true origins besides Lana and Chloe, but somehow, this hot blonde billionaire knew about her and her cousin's Kryptonian roots, and it did not set well with her at all.

Oliver paused, suddenly aware that Kara had no idea that he knew Clark's secret, thereby knowing hers, "I've known Clark for a few years now and we know each others secrets, which means I know yours by default."

Kara took a fistful of Ollie's tuxedo into her hand, twisting it firmly for an iron grip and pressed him up against the nearest barn wall, lifting him off his feet while using her other forearm to compress his trachea, "What do you know?"

Oliver struggled to breathe, but managed to get a few words out, "You and Clark aren't from around here."

Kara's pretty mouth turned from a frown to an outright scowl and her voice was a dangerous hiss as she demanded, "What else?"

"I know that he doesn't like revealing his secret to just anyone, and I swear I'm not just anyone . . . Clark and I help each other out sometimes," Oliver squeaked as the pressure against his throat tightened.

Kara eyed him suspiciously, her eyes dangerous now too, "Why would Clark ever need a human's help . . . especially a useless one like you whose only purpose is to look pretty?"

Oliver managed a laugh through the steel bar of her forearm on his windpipe, "I have many talents and resources that your cousin finds useful . . . I'm not your average pretty boy."

"Name one thing that you could possibly do that my cousin would find useful with all the power he has at his fingertips?" Kara asked, frustrated that he was still charming even when being threatened.

"I run a little known operation called The Justice League . . . ever hear of a man known as Lex Luthor?" he breathed a little easier as she physically and mentally recoiled from the name.

"Unfortunately, I know him a lot better than I'd like," Kara admitted, relenting and setting him on the floor as she removed her arm from its place across his throat, "The Justice League, huh? What does this 'little known operation' do exactly?"

Oliver smiled at her, rubbing tenderly at his neck, "We like to keep monsters like Lex Luthor in check . . . each member has a special ability that helps us infiltrate secret labs and inhumane experiments being conducted by men with God complexes."

"What's your talent?" She asked curiously, feeling it in her gut that this man wasn't a threat to her or Kal-El. She tried desperately to smooth the severe wrinkles she'd creased into his suit, but mere patting wasn't enough so she thought of another way to fix it. Kara used her heat vision to gently persuade the fabric back to its previous flawlessness like a steam machine used take the wrinkles out of fancy clothing; her father may not have been the best of men, but he'd always rightly praised her for being resourceful.

Oliver watched in interest as she de-wrinkled his suit with her eyes, "Personally, I don't have a super-human gift unless you call Olympic level archery skill super-human . . . I'm more of a strategist, an infiltrator, and the leader of the group; plus, I bankroll the entire operation as well . . . but my tech guys are always coming up with clever new arrow prototypes that come in pretty handy. When we first met, Clark saved my ass a couple of times while I was out patrolling before I had a group of metahumans to help me out, and eventually he told me the truth . . . it's funny because everyone on my team actually met Clark first . . . he's almost like my own private recruiter."

"So you shoot arrows?" Kara asked, disappointed that he didn't have some more prolific talent.

"You make it sound so . . . insignificant," Oliver complained, frowning. "Do you have any idea how many illegal research facilities my team and I have incapacitated over the past two years?! We've saved thousands of lives! Our attack on Lex Luthor's Reeve's Dam 33.1 facility released you from the ship you were trapped in for so long."

"Thanks, I guess," Kara shrugged, her expression bored, "What can everyone else on your team do?"

Oliver pointed Victor Stone, who was talking to Pete's plus one, out of the crowd, "That's Victor Stone or Cyborg when he's on a mission . . . X-ray him and you'll figure out why he's earned that particular name."

Kara looked at the young, attractive black man and concentrated her eyesight until her X-ray vision took over her senses. Victor Stone was half-man, half-machine and it looked like all the machine inside his body was some sort of abstractly designed computer, "Wow! How'd that happen to him?"

"A doctor named Alistair Kreig rebuilt him after a fatal car accident that killed his entire family using electrical and mechanical parts and bionics at a facility known as SynTechnics, a subsidiary research compound owned by Lex Luthor," Oliver told her gravely. "He was the only test subject who survived the experiments."

Kara frowned again, "How did he meet Clark?"

"When a doctor helped him escape he was hit by Lana's car and walked away without a scratch, which, of course, meant that Clark found out since Lana was involved. He tried to help Victor evade SynTechnics and Lex Luthor so he could return to the only person he loved who was still alive . . . his girlfriend, Katherine . . . the evasion was successful but Katherine left him," Oliver intoned solemnly, "She couldn't handle Victor version 2.0 . . . when I found him he was living on the streets, but when I found out what he could do, I recruited him and gave him a few upgrades . . . he's excellent for hacking into computer systems."

"That's so sad," Kara enunciated, her voice downtrodden at the handsome young man's plight.

Oliver nodded in agreement, "He seems to be having fun tonight though . . . I've never seen him this happy . . . he must really like Pete's date."

"Good for him," Kara expounded, hoping that he would be one of those people who got a happy ending. "Who else here is in your 'League'?"

Oliver searched the crowd again, spotting Bart next and pointing him out, "That's Bart Allen, otherwise known as Impulse."

Kara wrinkled her nose, still remembering the stories Chloe had told her about Bart, "I've heard about him, but nothing I was told led me to believe he's special in the kind of way that Victor is. What's his deal?"

"Well, like Victor, Clark met him before I did . . . when he was a little kid he was in an accident with a bright flash of light, according to him, and ever since then he's been able to move at super-speed . . . believe it or not, he's actually faster than Clark and probably you," Oliver commented, a small smile on his face as she rolled her eyes at the possibility of any mere human being faster than her or Clark, "He ran away from his parents because they didn't understand him and stole whatever he wanted, including Jonathan Kent's wallet, which is how he and Clark met . . . your cousin, ever the do-gooder, tried to instill a sense of right and wrong into him but he was just a kid and it took a little while for the lessons Clark wanted to teach him to sink in," Oliver explained, "I found him a couple years later also living on the streets, stealing only food . . . I saw a lot of potential in him so I offered him a job."

"Why is he called Impulse?" Kara asked, dubiously. "Cyborg is a very obvious name for Victor, but Impulse . . . What does that have to do with anything?"

Oliver chuckled, still fingering his throat, "I dare you to have a conversation with him . . . if you do you'll understand why he was named that against his will. He wanted to be called 'The Flash' or something hokey like that, but he does everything impulsively without any thought beforehand . . . hence, Impulse."

"I get it," Kara caught on, watching Bart looking from girl to girl, impulsively choosing one and following her until he could get close enough to hit on her. She used her super-hearing to listen in on the conversation and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the pick-up line he'd chosen had come off the top of his head even though his delivery had been smooth and chuckled. "Anybody else?"

Oliver found Dinah easily, considering the color of her dress, and pointed her out, "That's Dinah Lance or The Black Canary . . . It makes no sense when you see her now because she's in costume to promote her day job as a talk show host that rallies against injustice but that long dark hair of hers is really a wig . . . In reality she has short canary yellow hair, and when she's on duty for the League she wears all black, including black fishnets," Oliver told Kara, who was no longer angry but absolutely enthralled, ". . . hence Black Canary."

"What's her ability?" Kara asked, she wasn't used to the idea of humans having super powers and it fascinated her to no end.

Oliver smiled at Kara's childlike curiosity, "She has what can only be described as a subsonic scream . . . it generates a really powerful sound wave that can break glass and disintegrate my arrows . . . it made Clark's ears bleed when he was exposed to it, probably because of his super-hearing. Plus, she's seriously good at kicking ass and throwing knives around . . . that part comes in handy a lot more than one might think."

"Anyone else?" Kara demanded, still stuck in her aura of captivation.

Oliver searched for A.C. and spotted him pleading with a waiter, who was looking at him like he was insane for turning down free alcohol, for a glass of water instead of champagne. Oliver pointed him out to Kara, who had an unsuspected reaction to the aquatic Justice Leaguer. Her cheeks flushed pink and all of a sudden she felt very hot even though she knew the evening air was in a happy medium between too warm and too cold. He was wearing a bright orange bow tie and a bright green cummerbund that shone out brilliantly against the crisp black and white of his tuxedo and he had a charming drawl that she heard using her super-hearing as he attempted to get a server just to bring him a plain glass of water instead of alcohol. The sound of his drawl took her to very naughty places, places she'd never been before.

"What's his deal?" Kara asked, her voice unsteady and an octave higher than it had been only a few seconds ago, her palms sweating so badly she had to wipe them on her dress. She fidgeted horribly as she watched the hot sandy-brown haired male finally acquire his glass of water with a satisfied expression on his face that she could only describe as delicious.

Oliver went on as he had with the others, pretending not to notice Kara's odd behavior when she caught sight of who he was pointing at, "That is Arthur Curry but he prefers A.C.. His Justice League name is Aquaman . . . the name is self-explanatory really. He swims the way Bart can run, faster than Clark, which probably means faster than you too. He can also hold his breath underwater for long periods of time, has super strength if he's not allowed to dehydrate, can communicate with most marine life and can generate a ball of energy underwater that can be used as a form of self-defense or as a weapon depending on the situation . . . He met Clark before I did as well. He saved Lois from drowning a few years back and they had a thing, but it didn't work out because he couldn't stay away from the sea . . . in his own way, he's a terrorist against those that would do any marine life or the ecosystems of marine life any harm, but he's dialed it back a bit to a more manageable, less criminal degree," Oliver concluded, noting that Kara's cheeks were now as just as red as her dress and she was nervously distracted, partially by A.C. himself, and partially unreasonably jealous of his past with Lois.

It took several seconds for her to draw her attention away from A.C. but eventually she found herself gazing at Oliver again, "Anyone else?"

Oliver nodded his head toward Chloe, "Meet Watchtower, the cyber-brains of our operation whenever we're on a really important mission . . . she makes sure each one of us is online, communicating and functioning properly, and saves our asses by giving us alternative solutions when our plans don't go as smoothly as we always hope they will," he explained, ". . . and by the way, while you were gone Clark had Chloe's memory of the real him, which also means the real you as well, wiped from her brain, so you're going to have to be careful around her."

"Why would he do that?" Kara's eyes widened as she looked at the bride, gazing on her role model as if she'd never seen her clearly before, but she frowned at the last bit of information.

"Brainiac wreaked some serious havoc with her memory and Clark felt guilty about it, blaming himself like always, so he had Jor-El erase any memory of the real him because he didn't want to cause her anymore pain," Ollie revealed, morosely. "Clark's codename is Boy Scout by the way."

"Clark is a part of The Justice League?" Kara asked, immediately irritated with her cousin for not mentioning this to her.

"Unofficially," Oliver elaborated, ". . . like I told you before, we've helped each other out a few times, but he's never made a permanent commitment to it."

"Oh," Kara absorbed, her irritation decreasing slightly as she gazed at Clark. She turned her attention back to Oliver, "What about you?"

"I thought we already covered me," Oliver fussed, annoyed, he wasn't in the mood for her to tell him that he was nothing special when he had an active project he needed to get back to.

"All the others have codenames," Kara explained, looking at him seriously, "What's yours?"

"Green Arrow," he supplied simply.

"Why green?" She asked, her childlike fascination with The Justice League still intact.

"The arrows on my family crest are green, archery has always been a specialty of the Queen family, and I wear a green leather suit whenever I'm doing anything Justice League related," Oliver told her.

"Oh," Kara took in the answer, but he could tell she had more questions, ". . . does anyone else wear a leather costume?"

"Pretty much everyone except for Aquaman," he revealed, ". . . he prefers a wetsuit, an orange and green wetsuit," he added, just to see what her reaction to that piece of knowledge would be.

Kara didn't disappoint. She fixed her eyes on A.C. again and bit her perfectly stained red lip as she imagined him in a skin-tight orange and green wetsuit . . . her palms started to sweat again and the temperature seemed to rise several degrees for her because she was absent-mindedly fanning her face, which was still as red as her dress. This was nothing compared to the minute crush she'd had on Jimmy . . . sure he'd been cute and there had been butterflies but A.C. sent waves of tingly fire from her core to every nerve ending in her body, and the butterflies he caused were monstrous in comparison. She'd told Jimmy earlier that she wasn't looking for a relationship at the moment but one look at A.C. had her head spinning and her stomach twisting in knots. She'd never felt like this before about anyone . . . she'd never had a boyfriend on Krypton and what she'd had with Jimmy was a schoolgirl's crush. Kara forced herself to focus on all the information Oliver had given her. Of course she wanted to do something about her attraction to A.C. but she didn't know what to do, and she planned on turning to Oliver for help, aware that he'd been watching her inner turmoil and obvious attraction to the aquatic member of the League. However, there was something more pressing she needed to discuss with him.

"So how does one become a member of this 'Justice League'?" She asked seriously.

Oliver studied her for a moment, surprised at her u-turn of a mood swing, "Well, it's not like we have a hazing ritual or anything. Why do you want to know?"

Kara paused for a second, she'd really wanted Kal-El to be the first person she told about her decision to remain on Earth but it didn't look like he was going to be available for a while, so she decided to share her secret with Oliver instead, "I really wanted Clark to be the first to know, but I've decided to live on Earth permanently now."

"Really?" Oliver questioned her, surprised. "Clark told me you were off searching for your old home on Krypton, Kandor, is it?"

"Yes," she stated simply.

"He made it sound like you'd found it and were living there," Oliver revealed.

"I was," Kara told him, "but it's not my childhood home anymore . . . it's different and lonely and I really kind of like having the powers the yellow sun gives me. I want to help people . . . something it seems you and I have in common."

Oliver smiled at her, totally caught off guard, "Well, I'm always looking for people to add to my team if you're interested."

Kara moved her eyes briefly to A.C. before returning Oliver's gaze, "I was hoping you'd say that but, in my case, I was sort of wondering if you might haze me."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You want to be hazed? Why? How?"

She stared at A.C. again, her mouth watering with lust before turning to Oliver desperately, "Help me."

"With what?" Oliver smiled vaguely, playing dumb.

"A.C.," she pleaded, "I've never had a boyfriend before, and I don't know what to do . . . help me . . . please?"

~*~

Oliver's P.O.V.

Oliver had already sent A.C. to dance with Lois to make Clark jealous so as far as he was concerned, unless Lex really wasn't dead and tried to pull something sinister at the wedding, A.C. was free to do as he pleased. Besides, he was already playing matchmaker that night anyway, he might as well do yet another good deed that evening . . . in addition to Project Clois he'd placed Victor Stone's meal card next to Pete's date, Vanessa. After assessing the pair, he'd realized that Pete and Vanessa were just friends, so he thought he'd tweak things a bit and see if Victor and Vanessa would hit it off. Fate was apparently on his side that day because Victor and Vanessa had already met before dinner and had hit it off, so his meddling had been a good thing. He returned his attention back to the couple at hand, Kara and A.C.. He could imagine the two of them connecting right away . . . they both had a sort of beach type vibe going for them, but he'd only find out if that was true if he introduced the two.

Kara honestly looked lost and scared at the idea of even approaching A.C., who seemed to affect her tremendously, and his heart went out to the young woman. Maybe if he played Cupid enough tonight, Karma might reward him with his own perfect match.

"Okay, I'll help you," Oliver agreed, smiling. He grabbed her hand, surprised to find it clammy with nervous sweat, and steered her toward where A.C. was standing amongst the guests.

~*~

A.C.'s P.O.V.

"Hey A.C.," Ollie greeted casually, holding hands with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

She had blonde, perfectly wavy hair with loose curls, amazing blue eyes, perfect bone structure, and the most delicious lips he'd ever laid eyes on. She was tall, probably around five foot seven, and her body was exquisitely proportioned, which was shown clearly by the clingy blood red wrap dress she was wearing that had a torturously high slit up her long, lean thigh. Her skin looked so soft all he wanted to do was touch it, but his palms were sweating and his stomach was twisting into knots at the sight of her and he was fairly certain he was blushing again.

"Oliver," A.C. acknowledged, the only word he could get out around his 'boss'' mystery girl.

"Have you met Clark's cousin, Kara, yet?" Oliver asked, casually pulling Kara around so she was loosely sandwiched between the two attractive men.

"No, I haven't," A.C. admitted, turning another shade of pink as he stuck out his hand for Kara to shake, watching his as his 'boss' disappeared from behind the mystery girl, leaving the two of them alone, his voice nervous, "I'm Arthur but I prefer A.C. . . . It's nice to meet you."

Kara stared timidly at his hand for a moment before taking it in hers and firmly shaking it, "I'm Kara and it's nice to meet you too."

A.C. was relieved that her voice sounded as nervous as his did, but what truly surprised him was the electric zing that pulsed through his body when their hands touched . . . he'd never felt anything like that with anyone else, Lois included, and he considered his short time with the beautiful, mouthy brunette sacred territory . . . it made him feel alive in a way he'd never felt before. His pulse was racing and he was sweating, which was bad . . . the last thing he needed was to get so dehydrated around the one girl with whom he had chemistry and start to get all weak and scaly . . . he needed more water and quickly. A server happened to be passing by at that particular moment so A.C. requested a couple bottles of water instead of just a glass, hoping that they would keep him satiated while he talked to Clark's cousin.

"How's Minnesota treating you?" A.C. asked, suddenly finding the situation humorous.

Kara narrowed her eyes at him but not in an unkind way, "You and I both know I'm not really from Minnesota . . ."

"True," A.C. conceded, grinning. "I just wasn't sure if you were comfortable sharing that information with a complete stranger."

"That was . . . sweet of you," Kara said shyly, looking a little like a deer caught in the headlights, "Mix your consideration in with that Southern drawl and you're the perfect Southern gentleman."

A.C. blushed again, "How do you know I'm a gentleman? Maybe I'm the bad guy?"

Kara outright laughed, making A.C. blush ever deeper, "The goodness inside you is radiating off the surface of your skin . . . there's no way you're the bad guy!"

"I've done bad things before," A.C. defended, trying to hang on to the last shreds of coolness he was attempting to project to this mystery girl he was already instinctually crazy for, ". . . but they were good bad things."

Kara smiled widely, her voice triumphant, "See, I told you . . . pure gentleman through and through . . . So how long have you known Clark?"

"We met three and a half years ago," A.C. revealed, "I was in town because of a project of Lex Luthor's called Leviathan . . . Clark helped me stop him from using it to destroy the world's oceanic ecosystems, and from making another prototype. You'd be amazed how many expensive science experiments are lost because the people doing them are so scared of the trouble they'd get into if they're caught that they fail to back up the data."

Kara laughed suddenly, leaving A.C. with a wary and confused look on his face, "I was just thinking that if you'd happened to speed swim through Reeves Dam three and a half years ago, maybe you could have rescued me and Lois."

A.C. sighed . . . so she knew the truth, no doubt from Oliver; however, it was only fair that if he knew her secret that she know his.

"I'm sorry," Kara apologized immediately, her nervousness coming off of her tangibly, "Did I make you uncomfortable? We don't have to talk about anything like that if you don't want to."

"Oh honey, don't apologize," A.C. insisted, worried he'd offended her, "I'm more than okay talking with you about my abilities . . . Besides, I wouldn't be that perfect Southern gentleman if we talked about your secret and not mine."

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding her perfect blonde head. "I had a run-in with Oliver Queen right before he brought me over to introduce us."

"A run-in?" A.C. arched his eyebrows, a questioning look decorating his handsome features.

"He invited me to dance and I accepted because he has manners, unlike most all the other men I've danced with this evening, and he mentioned something about Clark and how I look a lot like my Aunt Lara, Clark's birth mother. Clark hadn't told me that any humans besides Lana and Chloe knew about our true origins . . . I went a little berserk," she admitted, blushing as she recalled grilling Oliver for everything he knew about her and her cousin.

"Berserk?" A.C. queried, not quite sure if he wanted to know, yet the appeal of having something to tease Oliver about was mighty tempting at the same time.

"I grabbed him by his tuxedo, body-slammed him into one of the barn walls and nearly choked him to death until he explained himself," Kara sighed, embarrassed, ". . . Clark's the only family I have left . . . I'm a little overprotective."

"That's understandable," A.C. nodded, it was hard enough not having his mother, he couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like without his father, ". . . Ollie has really had some awful luck today. First, Lois decks him, making his face all black and blue, and then you nearly choke him to death . . . He definitely likes his women feisty, but last I checked he wasn't into sado-masochism."

"I don't feel that way about Oliver," Kara said hurriedly, ". . . we just talked. He told me all about The Justice League, so, in all fairness, he pretty much outed you before you had any idea I existed. I think that makes us even."

"It's nice to know that we're square . . . you're not someone I'd like to owe a favor to," A.C. revealed, startling Kara with his words.

She looked at him strangely, as though she couldn't quite figure him out but desperately wanted to, "Why?"

A.C. blushed, "Because I don't think I could ever deny you anything you wanted of me."

"Oh," Kara took the words in and realization hit her like a ton of bricks and she blushed too.

"You're really cute when you blush," A.C. said, a tad boldly. The comment only made her blush more as she remembered Jimmy repeating those exact words to her only an hour or so before. She took her time to respond, not meeting his eyes for several moments.

"So what does it feel like?" She asked curiously.

"What does what feel like?" A.C. asked, presuming they were still on the topic of his abilities.

"Being able to swim faster than a launched submarine missile?"

"It's amazing," A.C. admitted, letting the memory of the act wash over his body as he smiled, "I never feel quite so alive as I do when I'm speeding around in the water . . . with only one exception so far."

"I know how you feel in a way," Kara claimed, ". . . It's such a rush to be able to go from Earth to outer space in a matter of seconds . . . it really does make you feel alive . . . May I ask what your exception is?

"You can . . . but I won't tell you the answer," A.C. told her blatantly, his lips forming a firm, straight line, a look he hoped would deter her from asking about his exception. He couldn't very well tell a girl he'd just met, who was from another planet no less, that the only time he'd ever felt as alive as he did while he was speeding through the water like a torpedo was just a few minutes ago when their hands had touched in a formal introduction.

"Why? I thought you couldn't deny me anything . . ." She asked, teasing at first, but then her lower lip protruded in the most beautiful pout, dashing his hopes that she would leave the subject alone.

"If I tell you the answer you may not think of me as a perfect Southern gentleman anymore," he admitted bashfully, "I kind of like having a girl as exquisite as you thinking that of me and if I told you the truth I don't think you would any longer."

"Really?" She was even more curious now, and, as he'd suspected, he couldn't deny her anything, "I promise I won't tell anyone if it's embarrassing or something . . . you can trust me, I swear."

A.C. closed his eyes and shook his head, knowing he already trusted her even though they'd only known each other for a half an hour. He had to close his eyes to keep from staring at the beautifully tragic expression on her face as she willed him to trust her with his secret. He couldn't bear to see her with that expression so he caved, "You."

"Me? What about me? I thought we were talking about you," she said, still pouting, confusion clouding her eyes.

"I am," A.C. explained, bashful once more as well as a little mortified, ". . . just a few minutes ago when we shook hands . . . when our skin touched . . . I've never felt more alive."

"Oh!" Kara squeaked in surprise, sucking in a breath through her mouth and letting it gape a little. It wasn't much but it was enough to send more blood burning to his cheeks than he thought possible. She shut her mouth, the surprise still evident in her eyes, then opened it again, repeating this ritual three times.

A.C. thought he was going to die of embarrassment . . . he wished he could take the words back. He'd rather she see him all shriveled and scaly with the way she was looking at him now.

"Please say something so I don't feel like a complete idiot," he begged her piteously.

Kara finally blinked and seemed to recover herself, immediately repentant, "I'm sorry, A.C. . . . Please don't feel like an idiot," she pleaded, taking her turn to beg, "I'm the idiot . . . I don't know how to handle situations like this . . ."

"It's fine," A.C. rushed out, the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable, though he knew with certainty that he already had. He didn't want her to leave. He liked talking to her . . . he liked her, but that didn't excuse the idiocy of actually telling her so, especially so soon after they'd met. "You don't have to apologize, Kara. I shouldn't have said anything, but I can hardly believe you don't know how to deal with situations like this. You must get mobbed by all kinds of guys . . . maybe even a few girls."

"I know how to handle situations in which a guy is impolite," Kara clarified, trying to keep her voice steady, ". . . I have plenty of experience dealing with that . . . it's the good guys I don't know what to do with."

A.C. was befuddled. Did that mean she wasn't sorry he'd told her his secret?

"I'm not sure I understand," he confessed, "Does that mean you think I'm a good guy?"

Kara forgot her nervousness for a millisecond and rolled her eyes, "You're part of a team called The Justice League which helps save the world from people like Lex Luthor . . . the fact that you're a good guy is very much a given."

"I still don't understand," A.C. repeated, truly flummoxed by her mysteriousness.

Kara stared at him like he was dumb, "Do you think it was just a coincidence Oliver brought me over here and introduced me to you?"

A.C. shrugged, "Ollie likes to play matchmaker . . . I guess I just figured he was up to something of that sort when he introduced us."

Kara laughed, "He brought me over here because I asked him to, A.C.. I wanted to meet you because just the sight of you made my palms all sweaty, my heart beat like crazy, and my stomach twist into knots . . . when I said I didn't know how to handle situations like this I meant that I don't know what to do when a guy likes me back . . . I've never really had a boyfriend before."

"You wanted to meet me?" A.C. couldn't help but grin, "So you felt it too, then?"

"Yes," she confessed, her tone evening out, apparently he had found the magic words to quell her nervousness and she smiled brilliantly at him, not shyly as she had at first, "I've never felt so alive in my entire life."

"Is this weird?" He asked suddenly, afraid that this was way too good to be true, "I've never really believed in love at first sight before but . . . looking at you I'm starting to believe that it actually happens."

"Have you ever been in love?" Kara asked, fixing him in place with her gorgeous blue eyes.

"No," he told her confidentially, ". . . you probably don't want to hear this but the closest I've ever come to loving someone was when I met Lois all those years ago."

"You're right," she agreed instantly, her face pinching up in the most adorable yet entirely sexy way, "I really didn't want to hear that."

"Have you ever been in love?" He repeated her question. He wasn't ignoring the fact that she'd told him straight up that she'd never had a boyfriend but sometimes, though he thought the majority of it unlikely to be true, one could fall subject to real unrequited love.

"No," she answered honestly, reading his thoughts, "but I think I might be falling."

This information made A.C. grin stupidly, and he confidently reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll catch you, darlin'."

"Oh, I'm counting on that," Kara told him, her voice mildly flirtatious. "Would you like to dance with me Arthur Curry?"

"I'd love nothing more," he said, holding out his hand for her to take and feeling the same electric zing course throughout out him as when they'd shaken hands earlier as she took it, the lovely accentuated feeling of being alive tugging at every nerve ending in his body.

"Good," she said smiling, ". . . because you're going to have to get used to me . . . I told Oliver that I'd like to join The Justice League."

A.C. couldn't believe his luck, "What happened to Minnesota?"

Kara wrinkled her nose again, "It's not the same as when I lived there before . . . I went there to find comfort but all I found was more chaos . . . plus, I kind of like Earth . . . humans are interesting and, to be frank, I love all the powers the yellow sun gives me and I want to use them to help people."

"Guess I'm not the only good person participating in this conversation," he teased, pulling her into his arms in the middle of the dance floor. "Just a warning . . . I'm a decent dancer but I have a tendency to step on my dance partner's feet."

Kara shrugged indifferently, "It's more likely that your foot would get hurt from stepping on mine than the other way around . . . and, technically, I'm not really a person," she reminded him with a pointed gaze. If things were headed in the direction she hoped they were he was going to have to remember that always.

"You look like a person," he argued lightly, "and you act like a person . . . the only thing remotely alien about you would be if you decided to wear something green instead of red or blue, and if your cousin's any indication of that then I suspect that would be a no."

"But I'm not a person, A.C., whether or not I look and act like one," Kara protested, trying to get her message across, "I'm very capable of hurting you and you have to remember that . . . as far as the green goes, I'll let you wear all of it . . . it looks good on you and I like my red and blue . . . they remind me of home."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," he told her, confidentially, leaning close so he could whisper in her ear, ". . . I'm not human either . . . and, honestly, I don't care what you wear as long as you agree to go on a date with me," A.C. slid the date part in smoothly.

"What? What do you mean you're not human?" Kara cried sharply in surprise.

"I'm the long lost king of Atlantis," he admitted quietly, wondering what her reaction to that tid-bit of news would be.

"Wow!" Kara exclaimed, wide-eyed, "I sure know how to pick them."

"No one else knows okay," A.C. emphasized, "so please don't mention it."

"I would never do that," Kara promised, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Now about that date . . ." A.C. returned back to the subject that actually had him nervous. He'd thought that revealing his Atlantean roots would be a hard thing to admit to anyone; he knew because on several occasions he'd tried to tell Oliver and hadn't been able to follow through, making up lame anecdotes to account for the lack of information he provided.

"As long as you mind your manners, I can agree to that," Kara accepted, making him feel like the luckiest metahuman alive, ". . . if just looking at you and touching you makes me feel this way I can't wait to find out what it feels like to kiss you."

A.C. laughed, "I don't kiss on the first date, sweetheart."

This wasn't entirely true . . . A.C. did kiss on most first dates he went on but only because he knew that he'd soon be moving on, swimming speedily from one corner of the ocean to another to help where he could. Whenever he was in a town on a mission and happened to meet a girl who shared his interest, he did kiss on the first date because he knew he'd be leaving, but things were different with Kara. She was going to be living on Earth now and she was going to be a part of The Justice League; plus, she was one of the few women on the planet who could keep up with him . . . he'd never have to leave her behind because she wasn't going anywhere and neither was he. This altered his view of dating drastically . . . in truth, he really didn't like kissing on the first date but his lifestyle didn't permit this luxury until now, so he was going to do things right this time around and be the perfect Southern gentleman Kara believed he was, because deep down this was the way he'd always wanted to do things as far as relationships were concerned . . . he just never thought he'd ever get to have one.

Kara poked her lower lip out again in her beautiful pout, "Why not?"

"Because I'm a perfect Southern gentleman," he said playfully, using her words against her.

"What if I kiss you first?" She asked, arching her eyebrow sexily.

"Well," A.C. pretended to contemplate, "You aren't human and even though I'm strong, you're stronger . . . so it's not like I could stop you," he mused, grinning widely before turning dead sober, "I'd really rather you didn't though . . . because I move around so often I don't really get past more than a couple dates . . . I've never felt this way before so I'd rather not rush it . . . make absolutely certain that you're not way too good to be true."

Kara pouted again, "Well, when you put it that way it would seem cruel of me not to respect your wishes . . . besides, I have manners too. My father wasn't the greatest role model but my mother and aunt were . . . they taught me how to be a proper lady . . . I won't shame their memory by acting like a, what's the word . . . skank?"

"I don't think you could act like that if you tried," A.C. disagreed, wholeheartedly believing his assessment.

"It's unwise for you to challenge me," Kara advised, "I don't usually back down from them . . . taunt me enough and I might set out to seduce you on purpose."

"I thought you didn't know how to handle those types of situations," A.C. raised his eyebrows.

"I'm a fast learner," she threatened seriously, though he could hear a faint trace of teasing in her voice.

"I guess I'll have to be a Boy Scout then," he amended, amused.

"I've heard of those before," Kara giggled, her mind wandering to dirty places, ". . . aren't they always supposed to 'be prepared'?"

A.C. blushed a deeper scarlet than he had all evening and she laughed at him openly. She could hear him swallowing very hard as he tried to come up with some sort of retort to her mildly dirty repartee. When he was unable to come up with anything clever, he simply stated, "You've got me there . . . I guess I'll just always have to be prepared then, won't I?"

Kara giggled again and looked him in the eyes playfully, "Guess so."

"You might make me feel more alive than anything else on this planet but if you keep at it the way you're going, you'll be the death of me," A.C. whined, which Kara found totally irresistible and sexy.

"It would be a sweet way to go," she laughed, starting to feel totally at ease in his presence. He noticed because he was starting to feel the same way.

A.C. conceded the point, "True."

~*~

Oliver's P.O.V.

Oliver had been doing a lot of watching during the entirety of the wedding so far. He didn't ever remember watching other people so much before, especially not a bunch of people falling in love right before his very eyes. First, there had been Victor and Vanessa, which he'd had a hand in and didn't regret for a second, and Vanessa seemed more than willing to accept Victor as Cyborg . . . Oliver knew that Victor hadn't told her yet but he could read people and somehow he just knew that when the time was right and he decided to tell her the truth, she'd take it in stride . . . then, there had been Pete and Lucy, a pairing he never would have guessed in a million years after her performance with Clark, but apparently Pete got Lucy in a way that no one else seemed to . . . he calmed her, made her into an actual person and not just a libido walking around in a bag of bones. He was actually very grateful to Pete because now he didn't have to keep his promise to her about saving her a dance . . . he wasn't in the mood to be mauled . . . then, of course, there had been Lois and Clark, which he couldn't have orchestrated more perfectly if he'd tried, but it had hurt him to see them together, an unwelcome surprise he hadn't been expecting . . . that was life, it was painful sometimes, but the pain he felt wasn't unbearable, 'I'm giving up my soul mate' pain, it was already subsiding. Now he watched as Kara and A.C. bonded romantically, which involved a lot of blushing on both their parts, but the more they talked the more comfortable they seemed to get around each other, and they had that look in their eyes . . . the one that denoted the beginnings of crazy, beautiful, perfect love.

All around him people were pairing up but there was no one for him and for one sardonic moment he was bitter that he wasn't getting to experience what everyone else was. Why didn't he feel alive when a woman touched him? Why couldn't he experience a kiss so intense it made him float? Why couldn't he find that one person who would be willing to accept him for who he was both night and day? Why couldn't he be lucky enough to find a person who saw right through his mask and was willing to coach him until he was ready to expose the person he really was to the whole world?

It didn't seem fair, but that was life again . . . it was rarely, if ever, fair . . . bad things happened to good people all the time, good things happened to bad people all the time and that's what he had to focus on at the moment or he thought he'd rip his hair out as he experienced an overwhelming sense of loneliness. He had to focus on making sure good things happened to good people, and that bad people got their comeuppance. He'd made it his duty to ensure this the day he'd first donned his green leather suit and strung his first specially designed bow with his first specifically unique arrow. He'd shed his skin that day. He wasn't Oliver Queen anymore, he was someone much more important with a much higher purpose than climbing the corporate ladder, though in actuality he'd hadn't had to do any climbing, it had all just fallen into his proverbial lap when he'd come of age . . . he was Green Arrow, a super hero, a defender of the bereft and helpless . . . Oliver Queen was his façade and knowing that what he did at night gave people hope actually helped him sleep better than he'd ever slept in his life, but he was tired of sleeping alone half the time and even more tired of waking up to a different woman in his bed every morning the other half of the time. He wanted more . . . being Green Arrow wasn't enough anymore . . . he wanted to have someone to share his secret with, someone who would be proud of his endeavors to make the world a better place, someone he cared for so much he simply couldn't leave her behind, not even for the greater good. For once he wanted to be selfish . . . He sighed, frustrated with himself. He didn't want all these conflicting thoughts and emotions . . . he wanted it to go back to the way things used to be . . . he wanted Green Arrow to be enough for him, but Green Arrow was a super hero, and Oliver Queen was just a man . . . an imperfect specimen who wanted the things that most men, even aliens, wanted . . . someone to come home to, someone to love . . . his heart ached for it and he realized then that the pain he'd been feeling wasn't remorse over losing Lois to Clark . . . his heart ached for the kind of love they shared and he didn't know how much more of that ache he could stand.

There was only one person in the entire universe he could think of who could even remotely relate to how he was feeling right this moment and he'd been meaning to call him about joining up with the League anyway.

Oliver pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolled down to the number he wanted and pressed send.

"Hey Oliver, what's going on?" The deep, dark voice greeted and questioned.

"Bruce, hi," Oliver greeted back, the tone of his friend's voice somewhat comforting. If Bruce Wayne could manage to always sound like it was the end of the world, then maybe there was hope for him yet.

~*~

Chloe's P.O.V.

"Hey, new husband of mine," Chloe sang out to Jimmy, so happy her voice was chirpy.

"Yes, new wife of mine?" Jimmy responded, equally happy.

"I was thinking," Chloe started, "that since you and Ollie have been playing matchmaker all day that maybe I could get in on some of the action."

"But Project Clois is a success," Jimmy frowned at her, not seeing where she was going with her train of thought.

"I know," she chirped, smiling, "but it's not a complete success because they aren't telling anybody yet . . . I was hoping we might force their hand."

"How so?" Jimmy, ever the Clois matchmaker, asked, intrigued.

"I know that usually at weddings the bride and groom cut the cake before the bride throws the bouquet and the groom tosses the garter, but what if we did it the other way around? Maybe Lois and Clark won't show up on the dance floor when all the single people are called together . . . the only logical assumption people who really know them would have would be that they aren't single and it would be obvious that the two of them are together . . . or, if they do decide to show up on the dance floor, we could launch our respective wedding weapons at them and maybe get them to admit it that way."

"I like where you're going with this . . . I knew I married you for some reason," Jimmy teased, kissing her on the nose.

"So you want to do it?" Chloe asked, her eyes lighting up at his praise.

"Definitely," Jimmy agreed, "just let me go and tell Oliver . . . he was the miracle worker behind Project Clois and I'd hate to leave him out."

"Okay . . . go . . . tell," she encouraged vehemently, so enamored by her idea that she wanted to do it as soon as possible.

~*~

Jimmy's P.O.V.

Jimmy approached Oliver, who was standing in a corner of the barn, talking discreetly on his cell phone in a low voice. When he noticed Jimmy standing there, he wrapped up his conversation quickly and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Hey Olsen," Oliver greeted, his voice fakely cheery.

"Oliver," Jimmy nodded, taking in the expression on his new friend's face, it was dark and dreary . . . he didn't like it, "I just thought you'd want to know that Chloe and I are planning an epilogue for Project Clois."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed, his face still holding its dark expression, "An epilogue? What do you have in mind?"

"Chloe came up with it," Jimmy explained, "She's hoping that if we're successful that maybe Lois and Clark will come out of the closet with their relationship . . . she wants to throw her bouquet at Lois and me to toss her garter at Clark to see if maybe it'll provoke them to bring their relationship out in the open."

"Don't the bride and groom usually cut the cake first?" Oliver questioned, his expression slowly but surely lightening.

"Well, yeah, but Chloe wants to reverse it," Jimmy told him.

"Go for it," Oliver approved, though he knew that their plan wouldn't work. He knew why Clark had asked him to keep quiet about his and Lois' new relationship and catching a garter and a flower bouquet wasn't going to change his mind about telling Lois his secret before going public with their romance.

Jimmy grinned and nodded, motioning for the blonde billionaire to follow him back to the party . . . maybe being in the festive lighting surrounded by people and good music would lift Oliver's mood.

~*~

Chloe's P.O.V.

When Jimmy had come back to her with Oliver in tow and had received his thumbs up from him herself, she made her way to the D.J. for the microphone.

"Okay, all you single ladies out there," Chloe crowed into the microphone, "Usually we cut the cake first, but I'm dying to throw my bouquet . . . so get out on the dance floor so I can have my fun!" She demanded, giggling as all the single women gathered on the dance floor. She watched a secret exchange between Lois and Clark, Clark nodding ever so slightly and jerking his head just as slightly toward the dance floor. He was telling her to act the part, leaving Chloe disappointed . . . she'd hoped that Lois wouldn't gather with the others, proving to everyone that she had someone, and everyone would just make the logical leap that it was Clark who was her someone . . . but, oh well, if Lois caught her bouquet it would be fun to watch the different shades of pink Clark's face would turn at the prospect of his new girlfriend being the next in line for marriage.

Chloe climbed up the steps to the first landing that led to the Loft, studying the crowd very seriously, memorizing where Lois was standing and hoping she could launch the flowers in the correct direction. It was true that Chloe's passion had always lain with journalism, until recently anyway, but her love of finding and exposing the truth only composed about 90% of her journalistic ambitions growing up . . . the other 10% being that she threw like a girl and her aim was atrocious, and since sports were out, that left her perfectly content to hone her poisoned pen. For once she hoped her aim was true. She turned around and flung the bouquet as hard as she could over her shoulder in the direction she hoped would find Lois.

A burst of laughter escaped the crowd and Chloe turned around to see who had caught her flower missile with excitement. Upon seeing who had caught it, she couldn't help but laugh herself. Standing in the middle of the crowd stood a very embarrassed Lucy Lane, who was blushing and looking apologetically at Pete who was also blushing.

~*~

Jimmy's P.O.V.

Jimmy now had the microphone in his hand and was encouraging all the single men in the room to crowd around the chair Chloe was sitting on in the middle of the dance floor. He passed the microphone off to the D.J. and prepared for what he was sure would be one of the highlights of this day. He knelt down in front of Chloe, who smiled at him encouragingly, and slowly coaxed the layers of her wedding dress up her leg until her blue garter was revealed on her sexy thigh in a sensual manner. He dove at it with his teeth, clamping them around the flimsy lace and ribbon, and tearing it away with one quick tug, smiling triumphantly with it still between his teeth. He was rewarded with whoops and yells from the crowd of guests. He took the strip of fabric between his fingers on both hands and shot it into the crowd . . . A.C., who was standing next to Clark, caught it, and there were more cheers.

~*~

Clark's P.O.V.

Chloe and Jimmy were about to cut the cake when his sensitive ears picked up on a low rumbling and he saw the tangerine colored punch trembling in its punch bowl as the rumbling made more distinct, separate sounds. Lois was close by him and they stared at the vibrating liquid together in confusion, and they were not the only ones who had noticed the thunderous noise now.

"What was that?" Chloe frowned looking up.

An awful howling noise had started to mingle with what sounded like monstrous footsteps, causing everyone to stop their clapping and look toward the origin of the terrifying sounds. As the noise grew louder the lights began flickering on and off inside the barn and people were starting to panic. Finally the lights were cut completely, leaving the group of wedding revelers in darkness. Suddenly the roof of the barn caved in in a mass of macerated wood, crushing a table set with wine and the remnants of partygoers' odds and ends. Out of the wreckage a massive figure pushed itself up from the ground, shedding the crumbled remains of the wood of the barn roof. Whatever the creature was, it was tall, gray, and had bony protrusions and spikes covering the entirety of its body with glowing red eyes. It was the most bizarre thing that Clark had ever seen, as well as the most violent . . . once it had gained its footing it started ripping everything and everyone to shreds.

~*~

Oliver's P.O.V.

Oliver pressed a button inside his suit pocket, enabling the nearly invisible ear pieces the members of The Justice League had planted in their ears, "We weren't expecting this," he spoke out loud, his tone commanding, "But you still know what to do . . . Let me get a shot at this thing with one of my arrows first, then do your thing."

Ollie raced to the spot in the barn where he'd hidden his bow and arrows before the wedding, pulling them out and choosing an arrow that was designed specifically to penetrate thick walls and come apart upon impact, leaving the main part of the arrowhead in the middle while five razor sharp spokes detached from it and shot forward for a total of six dastardly wounds to do the maximum amount of damage possible. He held the bow steadily in his hands as he aimed carefully at the one spot on the creature's forehead that wasn't covered in spikes and let the arrow fly toward its target. The arrow's trajectory rang true, hitting the beast squarely in the middle of its forehead but the metal projectile merely glanced off the creature's skin and it focused its attention on Oliver.

With the blink of an eye, the beast super-sped to the blonde billionaire's place fifty feet away, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off the ground, the bony protrusions on its fingers cutting into Oliver's skin. The beast tightened his grip on Oliver's throat, crushing it slightly before circling like a discus athlete and tossing Oliver through the air like a rag doll, sending him flying through a barn wall. He flew a good hundred feet after he crashed through the wooden wall and landed on the windshield of one of the wedding guests' cars with a sickening crunch of glass and bone, and the loud squealing of the car's alarm.

~*~

Bart's P.O.V.

Bart watched in horror as Oliver was thrown through a barn wall to God knows where. He'd done as instructed and waited for his leader to shoot his arrow . . . now was the time for him to try his hand at the creature that moved just like him and Clark and Kara. He sped, lightning fast, at the creature, running around and around it in circles hoping to confuse it and make it dizzy before darting his hand out to grab a piece of scrap metal from the ruins around him. He attempted to thrust the sharp end of the metal rod up through the beast's stomach and out through its shoulder, but the metal bowed as it made contact with the creature's body. The force of impact and lack of follow through caused the metal to slide violently in Bart's hand, slitting it open with enough force to cut through his metacarpal bones and halfway through his tendons, nearly taking his hand off. The sudden pain caused Bart to stop abruptly as he tossed the bloody rod aside and yelled out in agony.

His plan had been working up until his attempt to stab the beast but he was standing still now, a clear target in the beast's sights. It whirled around, backhanding him in the stomach with its entire arm, all the bony protrusions and spikes imbedding themselves into Impulse's flesh. The Justice Leaguer went flying through the air just like his leader had, but he didn't fly nearly as far, his back colliding with the tractor Clark always had trouble fixing since his father had died, leaving a dent in the metal exterior and knocking Bart unconscious.

~*~

Victor's P.O.V.

Victor tucked Vanessa in a presumably safe corner after dragging her away from collecting the fallen videographer's camera . . . he knew she was a slave to her art, but her insistence on getting this bloodbath on film was plain silly.

"Stay here," he growled, staring her down, "Promise me."

She was clearly frightened and nodded like she was a bobble-head doll, "I promise," she breathed, terrified. It didn't stop her from using the camera to record as much of what was going on as possible. It was the only thing she could think to do to try to alleviate some of her fear. She refused to be evacuated if Victor was staying . . . she couldn't just leave him.

Victor didn't give the beast a chance to recover from Bart's failed attack. He rushed at it and actually got in a few blows that left his arms searing with pain. The only reason he'd managed to get those few blows in was because the beast had still been distracted by Impulse. The next punch Victor tried to throw, the beast caught in mid-air, crushing his bionically reinforced bones in its hand. Crying out in pain, Victor clutched his ruined hand to his abdomen, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. He whipped around to the backside of the beast, using his enhanced vision to quickly search for a weak spot. Surprisingly he found one, not far off from where Bart had tried to impale the creature. It was the spot a Faora-possessed Lois had run Davis' body through with the metal spike from the hospital bed. Victor landed a solid punch to the spot, eliciting a furious howl from the beast, not sure if he'd actually hurt it of if he'd just annoyed the hell out of it. He landed another solid punch to the spot before deciding to follow Bart's path by grabbing a piece of sharp metal and aiming for the weak spot he'd found. The beast was too quick, however, and Victor never had a chance to do what he'd intended. It punched him squarely in the face, his right cheek to be specific, the bony protrusions lacerating his skin and crunching the metal of his cheekbone. Momentarily stunned, Victor wasn't prepared for the creature's onslaught and it picked him up with both hands, raising him over its head and slamming him down on top of the particularly nasty spike that jutted out of the top of its head. The spike cleanly skewered Victor in the side, causing him to leak blood and battery fluid. He gasped in pain and shock, feeling a few of his bionic ribs buckle, piercing his lung and God knows what other actual organs he still had in his body. The beast raised him up again and threw him up, up, up until he crashed through the roof of the barn. He must have gone skyward at least one hundred fifty feet before he came crashing down to Earth, where he landed on the soft grass outside the barn, also knocked unconscious.

~*~

A.C.'s P.O.V.

The creature had taken out Oliver, Bart and Victor and A.C. screeched in rage, trying desperately to figure out what he should do. He was strong, but Victor was strong too and he'd failed . . . all his useful powers involved water and he was on dry land. He thought as quickly as he could and remembered the caterers using giant coolers of ice to keep the colossal inventory of champagne chilled for the reception festivities. He ran as fast as he could toward the coolers . . . four of them, 116 quarts each, filled with melting ice. He could work with this . . . he had to . . . it was his only option and he refused to stand by and watch his friends get injured. He jerked the lids of the coolers open, sticking one arm in one cooler and another arm in the next closest one, absorbing all the water and ice into his system. He repeated the ritual with the other two coolers and turned to face the beast, which was busy wreaking more havoc on the wedding guests.

"Hey Mother-Fugly!" A.C. called out dangerously, "You with the spikes and shit for brains, I'm talking to you!"

The monster seemed to understand A.C.'s words because it stopped for a second and turned toward him. Drawing all his strength along with all the water he'd absorbed from the coolers he shot his arms out, holding his palms the way he would if he were shooting a ball of energy at an enemy underwater. He didn't know if it would work but he had to try and, luckily enough, it did . . . an enormous ball of energy began to glow within his outstretched palms and he concentrated on blasting it toward the creature with the maximum amount of power he could muster. The ball of energy zipped toward it, knocking him backward forcefully through the closed back entrance of the barn.

A.C. sighed in relief, noting that his skin was all scaly now and he felt rather weak, but his relief was short-lived. The creature shot back into the barn faster than a speeding bullet, only mildly fazed from the impact of A.C.'s wrecking ball of energy. The beast grabbed him by the shirt of his tuxedo and slammed him up against one of the barn walls that was still intact, cracking but not breaking the wood. A.C. was in no condition to fight back as weakened as he already was and the creature sensed this. Without warning it body checked him full on, all the spikes and bony protrusions slicing their way through the aquatic Justice Leaguer's body. The beast released him and let him slide down to the floor as blood began to pool around him from his various injuries. Vaguely, as if he were actually under water he heard an enraged female scream in anguish and pure hate, but his eyes drifted closed and everything went black.

~*~

Kara's P.O.V.

Kara had not been standing idly by while The Justice League endeavored to battle the creature that had crashed Chloe and Jimmy's wedding . . . she had been helping to evacuate as many people from harm's way as she could with the help of John Jones, trusting that Kal-El would soon join in their efforts to thwart the beast she presumed was Doomsday. When she came back into the barn for her next go round of evacuees she noticed that three of the five members of The Justice League were no where to be seen so she searched the beast out, only to see it body check A.C., who was looking scaly and weak already, piercing his very human flesh and letting him fall to the floor before turning back to what seemed to be its mission.

All Kara saw was red as the blood pooled darkly around A.C.'s body and she shrieked in pure hatred and torment as her super-hearing picked up his rasping breaths. She shot toward A.C., lifting him easily and zooming off into the air toward the Smallville Medical Center. She would get back to the beast soon enough, knowing that A.C. wouldn't last if she waited to bring him to the hospital after she challenged the creature.

"Help!" She called out in distress as she arrived at the emergency entrance to the small town hospital. An emergency team gathered at her scream and she set A.C. gently on the stretcher they had brought with them, "He needs water," she told them urgently, "Get him in one of those ice tubs or something and do it fast or he'll die!"

Before any of the doctors and nurses could ask any questions Kara was gone, headed straight back toward the barn to deal with the beast that had hurt the man she was crazy for. She was only gone for a second . . . the creature hadn't made hardly any progress since she'd left, and now it would have to deal with her.

"Nobody messes with my boyfriend!" she shrieked fiercely, stepping in the creature's path, effectively blocking its advancement.

Kara launched herself at it, tackling the bony, spiky creature with such force they burst through another barn wall, skidding in the dirt and knocking wedding guests' cars out of the way in the process, sending each vehicle flying through the air at funny angles. They wrestled with each other for a moment, dueling for dominance. She was out of practice having spent so much time in Kandor and the beast was stronger than she was. It flipped her over, straddling her and began to pummel her face and upper body, blood flying this way and that as it knocked her senseless.

A picture of A.C.'s bleeding body suddenly appeared in her head, giving her a rush of adrenaline and that rush finally gave her a chance to get out from underneath the monster. She tackled it again but it was ready for her, pinning her easily. Seeing that she wasn't going to win on the ground, the same rush of adrenaline helped her fight it off again and she raised herself in the air, kicking it in its spiny face. The creature flipped over and over sideways in the air like they were in some sort of crazy martial arts movie, landing on one of the cars they'd overturned during their ground fight, completely totaling the vehicle. It wasn't fazed . . . it jumped and caught her by the legs, the bony protrusions piercing her skin as it jerked her down. Positioning her like she was a baby it was cradling, it brought its knee up while smashing her body down with its arms. A nauseating crackle sounded as her spine snapped in two. The beast tossed her body away from it like it was throwing away a piece of garbage, and it super-sped back into the barn.

~*~

Dinah's P.O.V.

Dinah stood frozen in shock . . . she was the only one left and this beast had taken out all the other members of The Justice League in seconds. She'd been in some heavy situations before, but none as grisly as this one and for a little while she didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't feel like the brave super hero who helped save the world on a regular basis at the moment . . . she felt like a normal, terrified human being, grieving for the plights of her fellow super friends . . . that did the trick. As she thought of what this thing had done to all her friends she became viciously livid and she unfroze, loosing a subsonic scream that all the glassware from the wedding.

The creature howled in agony, clutching at its head where its ears must have been and dropped to the floor, writhing. Dinah had powerful lungs that she could fill with an enormous amount of air but all too soon she ran out, and her subsonic scream died in her throat. Just as she was inhaling another enormous breath the beast recovered and super-sped toward her before she could scream again, binding its arms around her chest and squeezing, laughing at the sound of breaking bones. She felt sharp stabbing pains and suddenly she couldn't breathe, she couldn't inhale, and she couldn't cry out in misery at the horrible pain . . . all she could do was rasp in rattling breaths that brought tears to her eyes. It didn't take long for her to pass out from the agony and lack of oxygen.

~*~

Clark's P.O.V.

Everything happened so fast he could barely comprehend what was going on, only that The Justice League had fallen and fallen fast. All he could think about was Lois . . . he had to keep Lois safe, that was all that was important . . . keeping the woman he loved safe . . . he hid her behind his body in an effort to protect her as the beast, whom he presumed was Doomsday, approached the two of them. Dinah's scream had left him weak and bleeding from the ears, and he'd done his share of writhing on the ground when she'd let her subsonic scream loose, but she had fallen just like all the other members of The Justice League and he'd managed to get himself back on his feet. Protect Lois, just protect Lois . . . she's all that matters now, protect her, protect the woman you love, he repeated over and over again as the creature continued on his path towards them.

Clark set himself up for the confrontation, pulling his arm back as far as it would go and springing it forward as hard as he could manage to punch the unsightly creature in the face. The beast seemed to have recovered faster and better than he had though and it caught his fist in mid-air, Clark just managing to push Lois out of the way before Doomsday twirled around and flung him extra hard toward the Loft. He crashed through the railing and the wood that made up a good portion of the floor, skidding to a stop as he collided with his desk, which rebounded off the corner of the wall, and heading straight toward Lana on the couch, crushing her beneath it. Clark tried to get up but the piece of kryptonite Chloe had pulled out of one of the desk drawers earlier had escaped the confines of its lead container, successfully keeping him down and out of the battle.

~*~

Jimmy's P.O.V.

The beast that had crashed his and Chloe's wedding was heading straight toward them and he instinctively pushed Chloe behind him in an effort to protect her, much like Clark had done with Lois, thinking the exact same thing, Protect Chloe, just protect Chloe . . . she's all that matters now, protect her, protect the woman you love. These thoughts ran through his head over and over just like Clark. The floor shook with each slow step the creature took in their direction, and it was clear now that it was definitely on a mission and it was also clear that this mission somehow involved him and his wife. He stepped forward, taking a wooden post in his hands in preparation to defend the woman he loved, meeting the beast half-way and swinging at him in a deliberate manner, though he didn't have a particular spot in mind to aim for. It caught the wooden post in its hand before it got even half way to its mark, pulverizing the wood in its grasp and flinging a wayward arm in Jimmy's direction, the spikes across the back of its monstrous hand ripping mercilessly into the groom's flesh. It sent him flying backward, unconscious, and he landed at Chloe's feet, blood seeping out from his wounds.

~*~

Chloe's P.O.V.

Chloe panicked when she saw Jimmy grab the post and bravely stride toward the beast to protect her, but she knew before he'd armed himself that her new husband was no match for the creature.

"Jimmy don't!" She cried out as he took a swing at the monster with flaming red eyes, watching as it used the back of its hand to tear the man she loved to shreds and sending him flying backward so that he landed at her feet, bright red blood ruining his handsome suit, "No!"

She rushed to his side and took his upper half in her arms, "Jimmy!" she screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks, "Jimmy please hold on!

"Hold on Jimmy," Chloe cradled him in her lap, stroking his face as the tears continued to flow, begging, ". . . please don't leave me!"

The thunderous beat of the monster's footsteps continued to sound as it continued to make its way toward the newlyweds. Chloe tore her gaze away from her husband and looked to see what was coming . . . in the darkness it had been hard to discern its features clearly. The only thing she knew for sure about the monster was that it had glowing neon red eyes. It approached her at a normal pace and she looked up at it, terrified, as it loomed above her from her place on the floor. It was breathing hard and it pressed its face close to hers, she was so petrified of this thing that she thought she might pass out . . . it would be a better place than this . . . any place would be a better place with the man she loved bleeding to death in this one . . . she wanted the darkness to take her away from all the devastation . . . she couldn't lose Jimmy, she loved him too much, she couldn't exist in a world without him, she didn't know how. The devastation led to anger and for a moment she glared up at the beast in defiance for trying to take away the one thing in the world she couldn't live without, the one thing she loved above all else, but its countenance was so frightening that the glare didn't last very long, especially when it spoke.

"Chloe," it said, its voice deep, yet somehow human and vaguely familiar to her, moving the hand that had maimed her true love to caress her face.

She let out an Earth-shattering scream as it gathered her up in its arms and she was so immobilized by fear that she didn't fight as it whisked her away.

~*~

John Jones' P.O.V.

John Jones had done the only thing he knew he could do to help in his weakened state – assist Kal-El's cousin Kara in evacuating as many of the wedding guests as he could before they got ripped to shreds by the creature he assumed was Doomsday. He hated not being a part of the action, if he'd still had his powers all he would have had to do is get a decent hold on the creature and send it to The Phantom Zone, but he was more human than Martian now and until Kal-El flew him to his home planet for restoration, he was feeble. He hadn't noticed that Kara had gone missing at first, they were working opposite sides of the barn to get the maximum amount of people out of harm's way in the least amount of time, but he heard a scream above all the others and with her enhanced lungs and vocal chords, he knew the piteous scream had come from her. As he rushed a bloody couple out of the barn he saw something shoot through the air and assumed that it had been Kal-El's cousin, but he had no idea why she would choose to leave at such a critical stage in the battle against Doomsday. From what he knew of her she was no coward so it simply didn't make sense for her to flee, but just as soon as she had disappeared, she was back and from her posture and the fury that twisted her lovely features, he presumed that Doomsday had hurt someone she cared for deeply, and she was back for revenge.

He saw her super-speed into the barn and screech, "Nobody messes with my boyfriend!"

He watched the gruesome battle that ensued between the two Kryptonians, wondering where the hell Kal-El was and why he wasn't helping his cousin fight Doomsday. His jaw dropped in shock as he saw the beast pull Kara out of the sky and snap her spine, the sound of the breaking bones so audible he could hear it from across the field. It tossed her limp body aside like it was trash and super-sped back into the barn. John vaguely heard a low scream, one that a normal human never would have heard, but he wasn't a human and at that particular moment he was glad his powers were gone, otherwise he would have been writhing on the ground as he suspected the beast was doing now. The only downside to this approach at keeping Doomsday at bay was that it would disable Kal-El as well, which wasn't the smartest strategy, but at this point what was smart and what would work were one in the same.

Since he knew that Doomsday was occupied at the moment, he took off at a run toward Kara's body. Jor-El had entrusted him to keep his family safe, and though he'd only thought that that chore would include his son and his son alone, John knew he'd want him to look after Kara as well. Jor-El had been very fond of his niece, he'd be happy that she'd survived and was attempting to follow in the same path he'd wanted for his son. When he reached her, his heart sank. Her face and upper body were a mangled mess, blood was everywhere and her dress was torn to shreds. Her body was positioned in at a funny angle, one that could only confirm that her spine was, in fact, in pieces. A faint blue hue had started to show through the red stain of her lips and he knelt beside her, feeling her neck for a pulse . . . there was none. She was dead and John had no idea whether or not exposure to the yellow sun would heal her, she was so badly broken. Tears sprang to his eyes as he gathered her destroyed form in his arms, listening intently for sounds that indicated Doomsday was still wreaking havoc, but the night was silent . . . the beast was gone.

John carried Kara's body back to the barn as the wailing of sirens announced the arrival of fire trucks and ambulances. He set her gently down on a bale of hay and concentrated his hearing again, picking up labored breathing that matched Kal-El's specific pattern. Even though he was powerless, sometimes he could focus his senses enough to be considered a metahuman, like the ones on The Justice League; plus, he had been so in tune with Kal-El for such a long time that he could pick up the sound of his breathing powers or no. The noise was coming from the Loft, so John hurried up the stairs and finally got his answer as to why Kal-El had not been outside helping his cousin battle Doomsday . . . a glowing piece of green kryptonite was on the floor barely three feet away from him, and he was immensely weak from the exposure. John grabbed the rock off the floor and lobbed it as far away from the heir to the House of El as he could. The Kryptonian prince immediately started to look better.

~*~

Clark's P.O.V.

Even in his kryptonite induced weakness, Clark had been ecstatic and relieved when John Jones appeared in the Loft and got rid of the kryptonite. Only seconds after John's arrival, Pete's plus one, Vanessa, hurried up the stairs, shaking visibly.

"It's too late," she sobbed, ". . . that thing took Chloe."

Clark couldn't believe his ears . . . he was still on the floor, the weak, sick feeling he always got from prolonged exposure to green kryptonite not entirely gone yet. John stuck out his hand to help him up and he noticed a jagged half of his desk propped precariously on the couch and he remembered that that was the exact place where Lana had been sitting. Not caring if Vanessa saw him use his super-human strength, he ripped the desk away from the couch and found Lana unconscious and bleeding but he couldn't tell from where.

That was when he thought of Lois . . . he had to make sure she had gotten out okay. He super-sped outside and searched the crowd for the woman he loved, not finding a trace of her . . . he focused his hearing, trying to find the familiar sound of her heart beat. He blew out a relieved breath when he found it, realizing that it was coming from inside the barn. He super-sped back inside and the sight before him made him wish he were dead.

Lois was standing exactly where she had been when he'd faced Doomsday, after he'd pushed her out of the way. She wasn't standing so much as hanging from the two sharp, thick shards of wood protruding from the right side of her chest. One shard had impaled her just underneath her collar bone, while the other had pierced her abdomen. Her breath was coming in short, hollow gasps, and Clark thanked whatever Gods there were that she was still alive as he vowed to get vengeance on Doomsday, but as he replayed the scene in his head, he realized something . . . Doomsday was on a mission and when Clark had attacked the monster it wasn't angled toward Lois, it was angled more towards Jimmy and Chloe, which made sense now since it had kidnapped her, a full forty-five degrees to the left of Lois and that meant only one thing . . . Doomsday hadn't been the one to hurt Lois . . . it had been him. He'd been so intent on keeping her safe he hadn't looked where he'd pushed her . . . this was his fault. He leaned over and vomited for a good minute before he turned his attention back to the woman he loved. Gently, he pulled her away from the jagged pieces of wood and cradled her in his arms.

~*~

Lois' P.O.V.

Lois had experienced high levels of pain before . . . she'd been stabbed and knocked around so much that she had a high tolerance for the feeling, and now as she lay cradled in her love's lap, she didn't feel a thing.

She looked up at Clark and a lazy smile decorated her lips, "Smallville . . . my Smallville."

"Lois!" Clark's eyes were wide and his tears were dripping freely onto her face, cooling it down, "You have to fight for me okay? You have to fight!"

Her eyelids were so heavy, all she wanted to do was go to sleep and she was so comfortable in Clark's arms . . . it would be so easy just to close her eyes and drift away.

"Lois," Clark cried out desperately, "Lois no! You have to stay awake! You have to stay with me! Open your eyes, honey . . . you've got to keep your eyes open! Don't leave me!"

Lois smiled at him again, a tired smile, "I'll never leave you, Smallville . . . I'll always be in your heart . . . I . . . I love you."

She couldn't resist it now, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she fought . . . it was time. She had to sleep now . . . she had to succumb to the darkness . . . she didn't want to, but she wasn't being given a choice . . . and it felt nice . . . nice to drift off into nothingness . . . it was just time . . . so she stopped fighting and let it take her away.