Chapter 8

"Report."

Brother Blood listened intently to his students as they revealed thier first day at Sky High. Jinx could feel the pressure of the headmaster's powers in her mind. He probed her thoughts to be sure she held nothing back.

"Very Good. You have done well."

He collected the encoded data chip of Gizmo's recording device and their reports.

"You are dismissed. Continue to monitor and report to me in two weeks."

Pleased they were doing so well Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo all left the secret room in the cover housing they maintained as agents of the H.I.V.E. as they executed their mission.

After his students departed Brother Blood turned to a giant monitor which actived.

"Your students are most impressive." a young man said from the screen.

"Thank you, they are at the top of their class. So, Mr. Cane, what do I owe the pleasure of your call today?"

"I just want to know the assessment on the two most distiguished students of Sky High, Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent."

"Yes they do seem to be very powerful, why haven't you approached them yet?" Brother Blood asked curious to know the answer.

"Well, they revealed themselves to be very powerful and my uncle Jordon became interested in someone as powerful as a Stronghold. After getting him a picture he looked like he saw a ghost." Mr. Cane said his gaze most pleased by such a discovery.

"So Jordon has seen this Mr. Kent before?"

"Not exactly, an alien from another world, a Kryptonian called Jor-el was on a mission to Earth. My parents had escaped a civil war and Jor-el chased them down even after my people were destroyed as a culture." The headmaster remembered Jordon told him that he and his nephew were from another world.

"My uncle says that his features are very similar. This Mr. Kent maybe the key to finally freeing my parents from their imprisonment."

"Imprisonment?"

"A different dimension called the Phantom Zone where Krytonians use it as a prison. Eternal Damnation. Neither alive or dead, trapped in a world devoid of life, and unable to find death."

"How dismal, I assume young Mr. Kent here might know a way to free them?"

"No."

"Then..." Cane held up a hand and cut off Blood.

"It is of no concern for now. Your students are friends with Mr. Kent and are close enough to report anything that will help that project in the future."

"Moving on then" Brother Blood said as they reviewed other operations in the H.I.V.E.

XxXxXxXxXxX

In Smallville Chloe's dad was working late again. The Kents had already arranged to look after her as he worked the long hours to get the plant up to Mr. Luthor's standard of performance.

The school day had gone really well and Pete had told them about his tryout with the football team to become a starter. They were both happy he did well and could hardly wait to know if he made the team. As the sun began to set Pete went home.

Finished with their homework Clark sat on the couch looking at the stars with his arm around Chloe. They were best friends, Pete teased them all the time, but they refused to make a change in that arrangement for their own reasons that even under their friends intense merciless questions kept tight lipped.

Clark just wasn't thinking that his arm around her could mean more than him being a friend and Chloe was not about to demand more from her nearly perfect relationship with him.

The stars appeared in the sky one by one as the sun's light faded completely from sight.

"Clark?" Chloe asked her friend, her hand on her shoulder with his their fingers intertwind. "Hum." he acknowledged she was talking to him.

"Do you, do your powers ever make you feel ... nervous?"

"Nervous?" his attention deverted from stargazing to his blonde friend. He wondered what she meant.

"Well," she closed her eyes summoning the courage to say what she wanted and beat back the fear of looking foolish to him. "I mean afraid of them."

"Oh." he said realizing her meaning from her clarification. "Yes, my powers do make me afraid. I always have to be in control of myself."

He sat up and turned to her so he could look into her eyes so that she would know he was being as honest as he could to her.

"It feels like I live in a world made of cardboard and tissue paper. If I ever..." he broke off summoning his own courage as he spoke from his heart.

Her hand found his showing she was not scared of him. He smiled a little at her demonstration of her confidence in him.

Before Clark could continue Chloe spoke up, "You know I can control water, and I really do know what you mean by always being in control. If I ever willed it I could boil away the water from a person's body, or freeze it, or worst."

"Worst than that?" Clark's eyes widened realizing she really did understand. Chloe went on to explain how she could also 'separate' water from a person's body. That was how much control she had over it.

"When we fight I can feel the water in another person. With my power all I have to do is..." she trailed off. His respect for his friend was again renewed and to him she was even more amazing. Clark could hear her heartbeat. The sounds of the night on the farm as the silence of understanding grew between them. Then a new sound reached his ears. The ringing of the telephone in the house.

He could hear his mother as if she were standing right next to him.

"Mr. Sullivan." his mother recognizing Chloe's father's voice. Clark was surprised even more when he could hear Gabe Sullivan's voice just as clearly. "Mrs. Kent, I'm afraid that the project I am working on is turning into an all nighter. Is it alright if my daughter spends the night with you?"

"Is the project really that important?" Martha wondered aloud and directly to the man on the other end of the line. Clark heard Mr. Sullivan sigh and said, "It is a worker safety protocol taht Mr. Luthor has insisted upon. It is in a critical final stage actually. I can't say more, but I am sure after tonight this should not be a regular occurance."

"Alright, I'll have Clark go with Chloe to pick up some of her things so she can spend the night."

"Thank you Mrs. Kent" he then hung up the phone.

"Your dad called." Clark said as his mother began to make her way to the barn.

Chloe was surprised. She heard the ring faintly, but did not think it was her dad.

"He is pulling an all nighter."

"Are you psychic now? You aren't reading my mind right now are you?" she asked a little nervously.

Clark laughed and touched his ear. "New power."

"SUPERHEARING!" she shouted excitedly.

"Not for much longer." he said faking liking his ears were burning. Chloe hit him on the arm. He rubbed it like it hurt. She knew it did not really hurt him, but she did not care. It was part of the act they had to maintain that they were normal to everyone else. Besides to her he was normal everyday Clark Kent.

His mother came into the barn and called out to the kids. "We know Mom."

At her puzzled look Chloe explained. "Clark discovered a new power. Superhearing."

"Oh." she said surprised a little, but quickly assimiliated the new aspect of her son. "Well that saves me time from explaining."

"Explain what?" Chloe asked.

"That I am going to take you to your house to get some of your things since you are going to spend the night."

"That's right so get going." she smiled to her son.

As if he had asked her Clark lifted Chloe as she wrapped her arms around his neck. In what looked like a blur of light they were gone. In seconds they were at Chloe's house.

"Wow, I think I'll always be amazed by that." she said getting out of his arms. Clark just smiled.

It was late enough that no one would notice them on the deserted streets. Most of the lights were off since the people that lived there were likely to be at the plant too.

A few minutes later Chloe was ready. She handed her bag to Clark and held onto her sleeping gear. She took off into the air. "Race you home."

While technically students were not allowed to use their powers outside of school, it was not a rule ridgidly enforced. Chloe was moving fast. It took Clark almost three seconds to catch up. He even suspected that the reason he did was because she slowed down to land. They laughed at their race, both feeling just happy being together.

"Come on let's get your bed set up."

He could see Chloe's eyes dance with mischief as he realized he said he was taking her to bed.

"I mean..."

"I know what you mean Clark." she teased him

Chloe went upstairs and as he finished setting up a fold out bed she came back down. She wore an extra large white T-shirt that had a large logo of the Daily Planet on it.

"Good night, Chloe."

"Good night, Clark."