Chapter 36

"Revelations"

Lois awoke at 2:00 the next afternoon. Strange… How did I get in Clark's bed? She thought as she tried to remember how she had gotten there. Then it hit her, she remembered the night, or rather morning before Clark and Linda left. I must have fallen asleep, she concluded. That meant Clark and Linda were definitely long gone. She got out of bed and staggered into the washroom to get a shower. An hour later she came downstairs, clean and fully clothed.

"Late night?" Martha asked as she watched Lois walking around the kitchen trying to fix herself something to eat.

"Extremely late," Lois commented. "Even for me. I tried to stay up all night so Clark and Linda wouldn't leave. Stupid decision. Now I have this terrible headache."

"There's medicine in top of the fridge."

"Great," Lois said grabbing the bottle and taking two pills out.

"Chloe and Pete called," Martha said as Lois got a bottle of water and took the pills. "They want you to call them back."

"As soon as I eat I will," Lois said sitting at the table with her cereal.

"Okay sweetie, whenever you're ready," Martha said as they heard a knock at the door. "Maybe that's one of them now."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Lois replied as Martha headed for the door.

"Lionel," Martha said after opening the door.

"Sorry I didn't stop by yesterday," Lionel apologized.

"It's okay. Come in, Lois is in the kitchen."

"Where's Clark and Linda?"

"They're gone to see their parents."

"Can I speak to you in private for a moment?"

"Whatever it is you can say in front of Lois."

Lionel shook his head. "It's important and private."

"Okay," Martha said stepping out onto the porch with Lionel and pulling the door shut. "What 

is it?"

"I didn't come by yesterday because I went to Metropolis to try and solve our little Lex situation. I think I have come up with a solution to make him leave Clark and Lois alone."

"What?"

"I found out from an inside source that Lex fears Superman, and Clark is Superman. So if Superman threatens Lex and tells him to leave Clark alone he just might listen."

"How does that work without Lex finding out that Clark is Superman? Lex being Lex will wonder why Superman is helping Clark, because in Lex's world no one helps each other without an ulterior motive."

"I thought of that. It turns out, Lex knows that Superman is in love with Lois. So Superman tells Lex that Lois told him that Lex is bothering her and her friends, so Superman promised her that he'd take care of it for her."

"That could have worked if Lex hadn't already found out what Superman's weakness is."

"How did he find out?"

"I'm sure you heard about the drug bust in Metropolis on the news."

"Lex was there," Lionel concluded. "There goes that plan."

"It was a good plan."

Lois finished her food, washed her dishes and put them away. She glanced out the window and saw that Lionel and Martha were still talking. She decided to call Chloe. Just as she picked up the phone there was a knock on the back door. She laid the phone down again and went to answer the door. She pulled the door open quickly.

"Pete."

"Hey, Lo'."

"Lo'?" Lois asked.

"Well, I thought it sounded okay."

Lois laughed. "Come in. I was just about to call Chloe and Jimmy."

"Yeah? Maybe the four of us could go up to the lake," Pete suggested as he and Lois walked back into the kitchen.

"Maybe," Lois said as she picked up the phone again.

"Is that Mr. Luthor out there with Mrs. Kent?" Pete asked.

"Yeah he had to talk to her about something important."

"I see."

"Hello? Is Chloe there, uncle Gabe?" Lois asked on the phone.

"Thanks," Lois said.

"Hey, Chlo'."

"Yeah, Mrs. Kent said you called."

"Pete just got here."

"Do you want to go to the lake?"

"Okay, we'll see you and Jimmy then," Lois hung up the phone and looked back at Pete. "Chloe and Jimmy will be here in fifteen to twenty minutes."

"Great."

"Kal-El, you are Kara's protector now. Her only family as she is yours. You have a responsibility to fulfill," Jor-El said.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

"You must memorize this person's face."

"Who is it?" Clark asked as he started to see a distorted face.

"This is Kara's soulmate. It is up to you to ensure that they find their way to each other. Make sure she doesn't make a mistake along the way. As it turns out you have already met this man. We are counting on you," Jor-El said as the image of Linda's soulmate became clear to Clark.

"Really?" Clark asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it is this man."

"I never would have thought of him," Clark said.

"That is why we chose to reveal him to you now, my son. You have known this man for a while 

as a friend and you would have never considered him as a suitor for your cousin."

"You can say that again," Clark said.

"We knew if you met him before Kara then you would never consider him as Kara's soulmate, but he was essential in your destiny and your meeting Kara. We had to allow you to meet him when you did."

"I understand, Jor-El," Clark said.

"Good."

Chloe, Jimmy, Lois and Pete arrived at the lake around 3:30.

"This is an awesome place. There's nothing like this in Metropolis," Jimmy commented as he glanced around at the beach and dock.

"It's been a long time since I was last here," Pete commented. "Chloe, Lana, Clark and I used to come here all the time. It's a great place to scout out some girls."

"Pete!" Chloe said disgusted. "You have a girlfriend."

"I wouldn't look for girls here now. I was younger then, and alone. I love my girl," Pete said.

"Cute," Lois commented. "But deep down all guys have that inner pig that can't help but look at other girls."

"All guys, but Clark Kent that is," Chloe piped up. "Clark only has eyes for one woman, and that's you, Lois."

"Ha, yeah right."

"It's true. He talks to girls, but he doesn't look at them the way he looks at you. Not even Lana. Clark's not like other men, Lois."

"Maybe Clark's the exception," Lois said.

"I disagree," Jimmy spoke up suddenly.

"Me too," agreed Pete.

"I think love changes a man," Jimmy said. "If I was here a few months ago, I probably would have looked at every girl that walked by, but since I've been with Chloe no one's more beautiful to me."

"Jimmy, that's so sweet," Chloe said kissing her boyfriend.

"Take that somewhere else, it's depressing," Lois commented.

"Why? Because you miss Clark?" Chloe teased.

"Why would I miss Clark?"

"Because you two have spent practically every minute together for the past year," Chloe explained.

"So?"

"You like him," Chloe teased again.

"Chloe, don't start," Lois warned.

"Anyway, I cannot wait until Saturday," Pete said to avoid a fight between Lois and Chloe. "The carnival is going to be awesome, and my girlfriend gets here Saturday. It's like the perfect day."

"You miss her a lot don't you," Jimmy said.

"Yeah."

"Every time we came home this week you were on the phone with her," said Jimmy.

"I love her man," Pete defended. "You should know how that feels."

"I do," Jimmy said wrapping his arm around Chloe.

"Great, we've got a whole love fest going on here, and I'm the only one who hasn't caught the love fever" Lois whispered.

"You have so," Pete, Chloe and Jimmy all said in unison.

"Kara, you must be wise. You are dealing with the heart. Kal-El needs your guidance and encouragement. Do not embarrass him," Zor-El said to his daughter.

"Father, I don't mean to embarrass him. He just gets so weird when it comes to love and Lois."

"Because the heart knows more then the mind. He fails to realize that she is his soulmate. You must help him realize her importance. You two were meant to help each other and guide each other. You rely on each other. You are family. His soulmate is your sister, and your soulmate is Kal-El's brother. You have a great responsibility to this earth, my child and you must fulfill it. The only way you can do that is with the help of Kal-El and the two we have selected as your 

soulmates. You will meet others along the way who will give you strength and encouragement. You and Kal-El owe this planet and the people of this planet everything. They have been good to you and Kal-El, now it is your duties to protect them."

"I understand that, father."

"I know you do. That's why I have so much faith and trust in you. You have made your mother and I proud. You and Kal-El, have been excellent representatives of your home planet Krypton. And now you must be representatives of Earth. You are symbols of good."

"What if we fail?"

"I know you will not."

"How do I convince Superman to help me?" Lex pondered. "He's all I need for total domination. Can you imagine what I could do with him on my side, and all I need are these little green meteor rocks to control him."

"The newspapers are right, when you become obsessed with something, you really become obsessed," Otis said.

"Otis you better watch how you talk to me or I'll become obsessed with your unemployment."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor."

"Good. Now what can I do to get Superman to help me?"

"Why don't you do something involving Lois Lane. We already know he's in love with her," suggested Otis.

"Not a bad idea," Lex said. "All I have to do is lure Superman to me using Lois, then use one of these little meteor rocks. Just one is enough to kill him."

"You're a genius Mr. Luthor."

"I know I am. Call Richard White. We have some more planning to do before Clark's secret is revealed."

"So, what did uncle Gabe think of Jimmy?" Lois asked as her and Chloe lay on the beach in the hot summer sun while Pete and Jimmy swam in the lake.

"He liked him. He told me he thought he was a sincere and intelligent young man."

"That's great," Lois smiled.

"I've never been more happy," Chloe said. "There's no more stress about meeting each other's family and our parents not liking us. It's amazing."

"I'm happy for you Chlo'. No one deserves to be happy more than you, especially with all the crap you've gone through in your life."

"Thanks cuz."

"Do you think we should go yet? We've been here for two and half hours," Lois commented.

"Yeah, we should get the guys and head back into town. We could go see a movie tonight. There's a double feature at 'The Talon' starting at 7:30."

"Sounds good," Lois nodded.

"Here come the guys."

"Hey ladies," Pete greeted.

"You want to go?" Jimmy asked. "We've been here for a while."

"Sure," Lois said. "We were actually just getting ready."

"So we were thinking we could all go to the double feature at 'The Talon' tonight," Chloe told the guys the plan.

"Yeah," Pete agreed. "Aren't they playing 'The Wizzard Of Ozz' and 'Gone With The Wind'?"

"You got it," Chloe smiled.

"Should be fun," Jimmy said. "Especially with old films."

"You and your black and white movies," Chloe commented.

"They just don't make them like they used to," Jimmy replied.

"Come on, let's get back to the farm and get ready," Lois said.

"Miss Lang, you need to get out," Ted said to Lana, who had monopolized her time with work.

"Ted, what do you know."

"I know that you've been working since you went to the 'Kent Farm' yesterday morning. Obviously things didn't go the way you had planned, and now you've surrounded yourself in 

work to avoid the truth and keep your mind off of what happened. So, instead of driving yourself crazy doing pointless work, why don't you go see a movie tonight? There's a double feature at 'The Talon'."

"You want me to go alone?"

"I'll go with you, if you want. After all, I am your bodyguard. How does that sound?"

"I don't know."

"Come on. It'll be fun. You'll have a blast."

"Okay. Maybe… I don't know."

"It'll take your mind off of everything."

"You don't give up do you?"

"Not until you say yes."

"Fine."

"Great, it starts at 7:30."

"Does anybody know that you're here?"

"No. No one knows anything."

"Are you sure? Nobody followed you?" Lex asked looking through the window.

Richard pushed his hands back through his thick brown hair, which was almost the same length as Clark's, maybe a little longer, and rolled his light blue eyes. "Must we go through this every time I come here?"

"Just answer me," Lex snapped.

"No. Nobody saw me, no one followed me, I told no one where I was going."

"Good. I have some news that you may or may not know."

"What's that?"

"According to my sources in Smallville, Lois has been alone all day. Clark is nowhere to be found. She has spent the day with Chloe, Jimmy and Pete, and according to my source, it seemed like they were trying to cheer her up or keep her preoccupied."

"I should go, be there for her. Maybe Clark broke up with her."

"Are you crazy?"

"What? Isn't that why you're telling me this? So I can act on it?"

"No, I'm telling you this so you can use it to your advantage later. If you go there now, Lois will know that someone has been watching hr and Clark."

"Won't she know that somebody's been watching her if I use to my advantage anyway, whether it's today, tomorrow or Saturday?"

"Tell her Chloe told you."

"You think she'll buy that?"

"You're a clever man, you'll come up with a story I'm sure."

"Lex, I hate having to lie."

"Then why are you interested in journalism?"

"Journalism is reporting the truth."

"Oh, really?"

"Look, I'm lying to uncle Perry, I've never done that before, and now I'm going to have to lie to Lois?"

"Either you want her or you don't. If you want her lie to her, if not step aside and let Clark have her."

"Is that how you got Lana? By lying?"

"You leave Lana out of this," Lex warned and turned his back to Richard.

"You like to dish out advice, but you don't like to hear the truth about yourself and your deceit."

Lex spun around and punched Richard in the face, leaving Richard staring at Lex in shock. "I'm sorry, I let my anger get the best of me," Lex apologized when he realized what he had done.

"You better be if you want me to help you and not press charges. If you ever touch me again, I'll go to the police with everything I know. I've heard and seen enough in my time here to put you away for life," Richard threatened.

"And compromise yourself? Are you forgetting that it was you who drove Otis and I to Warehouse 51 the other night. You knew why we were going there and you still brought us there. You're an accomplice," Lex said trapping Richard. "If you know what's good for you, you won't do anything."

"Fine," Richard gave in.

"Jor-El, before we go any further with the training I have a question for you about something from Krypton."

"What is it, my son?"

"Linda and I found something. It's a type of Kryptonite," Clark said pulling the rock from his pocket. "It looks like a jewel."

"You are correct, Kal-El. It appears to be a jewel shape because that's exactly what it is. It is called jewel kryptonite. It has a different effect than the other types of Kryptonite you have encountered."

"What does it do?"

"It increases a person's physical strength."

"A 'person's'?"

"Yes. The person does not have to be from Krypton for this to work. It will have the same effect on all who hold it."

"Really?" Clark said looking at the jewel kryptonite in his hand. He turned the kryptonite in his hand a few times as he processed the information his father had just given him.

Lois answered the knock at the front door of the Kent's. "Hey," she said as she saw Pete. Chloe and Jimmy were sitting in the car waiting.

"You ready to go?" Pete asked.

"Yeah," Lois said grabbing her jacket.

"Let's go," Pete said. Lois followed Pete to the car and climbed into the backseat with Pete.

"Hey, cuz," Chloe greeted.

"Hey," Lois smiled in return.

"Let's go man," Pete said to Jimmy who started the car and began to backup.