Chapter 13: An Uncertain Future

Author's Note: The final chapter! Enjoy!

"What is it you wanted to talk about Dad? I'm a busy man," Lex griped as he approached his father.

"Just the most recent scandal you failed to keep hidden in your vault," he threw a piece of paper down on Lex's desk.

"What's this?"

"A list of all the recent calls you've made. A great number of seem to relate to your correspondence with the former Senator Thompson."

"Simply a political ally and an important stockholder at Luthorcorp," he shrugged.

"So you didn't try to smear Martha Kent's campaign and take her down like you did her late husband?"

"You're the one that 'took down' Jonathan Kent, Dad: remember?"

Lionel Luthor's face twisted in anger at his accusation. "I'm sure the public would be interested to know how you masterminded a political scandal to take down an honest woman."

"And I'm sure they'd be even more curious to learn that the late Senator in fact didn't actually disappear, but was shot to death by CEO and ex-convict Lionel Luthor," he countered. "We can play this game all night. I'm getting quite used to them."

"Stay away from the Kents, Lex," he ordered with conviction in his voice.

Lex laughed coldly. "You think you can protect them? You think you're one of them? Fact it, Dad: you will never belong with the Kents. No matter how much you try."

Lionel was speechless, his brow knitted as he contemplated Lex's words. Lex put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll always be Luthors."

Lionel swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched his son grin and walk away from him. He had a look in his eye that he felt he could never erase from his mind…

Martha found her son, looking frazzled and worried in the waiting room. She raced up to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Are you alright, honey?"

"Chloe could have died mom… and it's all because she was trying to keep my secret. I can't believe she'd risk hurting herself for me."

She put her hand lovingly on his cheek. "Clark, this was Chloe's choice. We know that you'd risk the same for us."

"Mom, I haven't told you-"

"Don't worry about Lionel. You don't have to reveal anything."

His mouth twisted into a half smile and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? I mean, my secret puts everyone in danger."

"And what if you told everyone Clark? You've seen those conspirators, those fanatics; they weren't exactly ready to welcome you to the planet. You keep your secrets for a reason… and I wouldn't want it any other way," she smiled, putting her hand on Clark's shoulder.

He nodded and stared out into the hallways. "I just hope she'll be okay," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. He spied Chloe's doctor staring at a chart around the corner and rushed up to greet him.

"How is she?" he asked, skipping formalities.

"She's going to be fine," the doctor explained. "I'm not sure what was done to her, but she was lucky the effect was localized. If it had spread to your lungs or heart, she may not have pulled through. With some rest and some painkillers, she should be as good as new."

"Thank you, Doctor," Clark appreciatively shook his hand. "Can I see her?"

He nodded, seeing the concern on his face. "Go right ahead."

He placed his hand on her cheek and gently brushed away a strand of hair. She stirred, leaning into his touch. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly.

"Clark…"

"Chloe," he leaned his forehead against hers. "Oh God, you really scared me," he told her, his voice shaky with emotion.

"Don't sweat it, Clark: just another one of my patented brushes with death. You'd think I'd be used to them by now."

He shook his head, unimpressed by her attempt at sarcasm. "You know, you didn't have to do that. You could have told him."

Chloe raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Clark- I told you, I'd die before I'd betray you," she repeated firmly.

"And I would never want you to risk your life for my secret. I mean, what would I do if I lost you, Chloe? I can't… lose another person I love," he affirmed, squeezing her hand.

Her smile grew. "I love you too, Clark. I always have."

He leaned forward and his lips gently brushed against hers. "I'm sorry it took me so long to realize how much you meant to me, but if you let me I'll make sure you never forget it." Chloe tugged Clark's shirt to pull his down to her level and returned his kiss. After they pulled away from each other, Clark propped onto Chloe's bed and lay across it. Chloe buried her head in Clark's chest and soon fell fast asleep, still tired from her ordeal. He leaned his head against hers, grateful she was alright.

Suddenly Lois stormed in, breaking up their few idealistic moments. "Chloe! Chloe are you al- Smallville?"

Chloe's eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Lois."

"God, Chloe if you were trying to scare me, you really did a great job."

"Doctor's say I'll be okay."

"Okay, my ass! They said you had burn marks all over your body. Now Chloe, I have to know: who did this to you?" she asked, anger punctuating her voice.

Chloe and Clark shared a worried look. If Lex was willing to torment Chloe, there was little doubt he would refrain from hurting Lois too. And they both knew if Lois knew who hurt Chloe, she wouldn't be willing to let it go or exercise any kind of caution. Chloe shook her head. "I don't know. He wore a mask the whole time."

"If I ever catch that bastard, he's gonna go down," Lois insisted. She sighed in exasperation, and then looked from Chloe to Clark. "You guys didn't hook or anything did you?"

Clark and Chloe now looked embarrassed and looked around anxiously. "Uhhh…"

"Never mind! I don't really want to know about it," she declared, putting up her hands. She turned to leave, but not before throwing Chloe a knowing smile.

Clark smirked at Lois's bold nature and lovingly kissed Chloe on the top of her head. She reciprocated and tried, unsuccessfully to get closer to him. He put his hand on the small of back to hold her. Chloe unexpected let out a cry of pain, her wounds still fresh. Clark stopped, abruptly and released his hold.

"I'm sorry, Clark," she said apologetically; disappointed that she ruined their intimate moment.

"I'm the one who's sorry, Chloe," he replied, regretting that he hadn't found her earlier. "I won't ever let this happen to you again."

She nodded, feeling anxiety upon recalling the incident. "I know you won't, Clark," she replied, knowing that her Kryptonian protector wouldn't let her down again. All she wanted at the moment was to have this strong body right beside her. "Just stay with me a while."

Clark nodded and stayed with Chloe until late into the night, when she finally drifted off to sleep. When he was sure she was sleeping peacefully, Clark made his way to the Mansion: eager to settle his score with Lex Luthor.

At the moment, Lex had another critic to contend with. As soon as he had made it back to the room where he kept Chloe, he was surprised to find her gone and her binds mysteriously broken. He examined them; he looked over to see his unconscious assistant. He felt his pulse and found he was alive, then slowly stood in confusion. When he turned, there stood an indignant Lana Lang.

"Where's Chloe?"

"She's not here," Lana replied, abruptly. "What? Do you want me to track her down so you can extract more information from her?"

"Lana, the treatment was very controlled. She was never in any real danger," he claimed.

She shook her head. "You could have really hurt her, Lex. You just don't know where your boundaries are anymore."

At that moment Clark zipped through the mansion and was about to enter the door of Lex's office, when his super hearing picked up voices. His curiosity took over his common courtesy after he heard Lex: "So I guess you couldn't care less Clark's secret or how he's tied to all of the mysteries of Smallville?" Lex sighed in exasperation. "Look Lana, I was content to just plant the bugs, but Chloe… she destroyed them. She's protecting him somehow."

Clark's heart sank. Lana knowingly let Lex plant bugs in his barn? Bitter at her betrayal, he stormed into the room. "We need to talk," he told Lex, his eyes practically flaring in anger. "What exactly did you do to Chloe?"

Lex shrugged nonchalantly. "I haven't seen her in days, Clark. Why did something happen?" Lana stared at Lex, surprised by his apathy. She shrunk back as she watched Clark: he was angrier than she thought she had ever seen him before.

Clark moved closer to Lex, unfazed. "She has burns all over her body. She says you caused them."

"Are you sure she got a good look at him, Clark? I'll have my people track him down. Ask the staff at the mansion, no one's seen her."

Clark felt a sense of helpless as he realized he had no way of proving Chloe's burns were his doing. Even with all of his powers, he still couldn't help her. "You're not going to get away with this, Lex," he growled. "One day, you're going to be taken down."

"Clark," Lana began, timidly trying to calm him down.

Clark turned to face her; he took a breath and grasped her hand. If anyone could prove Lex's guilt, it would be Lana. Most of the town knew of the former, unlikely friendship between the farm boy and billionaire. His new lover, however, was more likely to be an impartial witness. "Lana, if you knew anything you'd tell the sheriff, right?" he looked at her pleadingly.

Lana wanted to nod in agreement and swear to help her friend, but a look from Lex stopped her. If Lex could torment Chloe and shrug it off, what would he do to her if she turned against him? Was it possible that she could help him and steer him back? Somewhere she did believe that Lex had good intentions. If she took Clark's side and condemned him for what he did to Chloe, he'd have no one left. Making a decision, she straightened up and looked him in the eye, "I-I don't anything, Clark."

Clark shook his head in disappointment. "I don't know who you are anymore, Lana. You've chosen your side. I just hope you can live with your decision." He walked out of the room with a heavy heart.

Lana ran to the doorway, watching him walk away. Lex came up behind her and put his arm around her waist. She immediately tensed at his touch. She stared into the eyes of the man holding her, was it possible to stop him from the path he had already gone down? As Lex pulled her closer, she indiscreetly wiped a tear that had managed to fall from her eyes…

"You talked to him, didn't you?" Chloe asked as soon as she saw Clark re-enter her hospital room.

"Yeah…"

"And?"

"Lex will pay for what he did to you," Clark reiterated.

Chloe nodded. She was smart enough to know that it would be difficult to implicate Lex. Clark saw her worried look and held her close.

"I wish I knew what to do, Chloe. Even with all my abilities, it feels like the Luthors are holding all the cards."

"Maybe… but I'm sure you have an ace or two up your sleeve. And let's face it, when your lives are as crazy and dangerous as ours, sometimes we just have to stop worrying about the future and live in the present," she offered, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

"Sounds like good advice," he agreed as he brought her lips to his.

"You wouldn't expect any less from me," she added as she sighed contently in his arms…

THE END

Author's Note: Okay, I should note about the ominous ending. I'm not really hankering for a sequel and I don't do Superman fics. I just wanted to make a 'start of evil Lex' ending. I also hope you bought Lana's decision. My take is that she feels scared of Lex and seems sort of trapped by the relationship. I also didn't want to break them up since they're still together on the show. And as promised I didn't take her in the evil direction!! I also left the Lionel/Martha line open, though I did mean to make Lionel sincere. It's really my interpretation of his character this season.

Also, I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little sad they never went down the Chlark road post-Vessel. That's why I was compelled to give this a Chlark punch at the end.

Soooooo, I hope you liked my story! This will probably be my last Smallville story for a while unless I have another idea. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Feedback?