Chapter 26 [Smallville—Sullivan Residence]

[A/N: Yes. Even Chloe gets a moment to celebrate.]

Lana blinked back the sleepers. She frowned. Her arms and legs felt heavy from Fatigue's burden. "Mmm…" She forced herself to sit up in bed. Instinct pressed her to prepare for another shift that morning. "Too early." She pushed her feet to the floor. Her hand grasped about for the pink robe. Her mind still spun over the previous day's events. Elation for Miranda over the reunion with the latter's family. Fear from the encounters with Octavius in the morning and the brawl later on….

…and then there was the woman's ghost…

Memoria poked at her. She rubbed her forehead. What is it about that woman? I've never seen her! Yet she terrifies me. What did she do? She tied her robe closed and padded out into the still dark hallway. She felt her way along the wall.

A bright light shone from the staircase.

Who'd be downstairs now? Chloe, it's vacation. Don't tell me you pulled an all nighter! She meandered a step at a time. Her foot landed on the linoleum before its counterpart did the same. She blinked as her eyes focused on their surroundings.

The coffee pot steamed away in the corner. The warmer light on its base shone brightly. The kitchen light illuminated the entire area. Chloe snoozed with her head down next to her open laptop. Next to her, her cell phone lay on the table top. On her left, a big plastic tankard mug held a little trace of coffee in it.

"She has been down here all night." Lana remembered coming in on the previous night. She'd seen Chloe typing away on her laptop. Her housemate talked into that cell phone. "Good thing her Dad's not here." She shut the coffee maker off but left the pot on the burner.

"Huh?" Chloe stirred. She jerked herself out of that nap. "Oh! Hey, Lana." She rubbed the back of her neck. "What time is it?"

"5:15. That's gotta be something really special. Want a refill?" Lana supposed.

"Thanks. Yeah that'd be great." Chloe grimaced. "I wonder what's going on in New York?"

"New York? What's that have to do with you or us?" Lana filled the big white tankard. "There you are."

Chloe poured her creamer into it. Her spoon stirred the mixture. "Mr. Parker and I were working on a piece about the Talon last night. I sent it off about three hours ago." She heard her phone buzz at her. "The Bugle now? Hmm?" She answered, "Chloe Sullivan."

"Good morning, Miss Sullivan. This is Betty Leeds, Mr. Robertson's secretary. He'd like to speak with you." Betty looked over at Robbie.

"Sure! I hope everything's all right. Thanks, Ms. Leeds." Chloe quirked an eyebrow. Nerves flared inside of her. She ground her teeth.

"Good Morning, Miss Sullivan. I'm Joe Robertson, the City Editor for the Daily Bugle. How are you this morning?" Robbie answered.

"I'm fine, Mr. Robertson! I appreciate the call. I hope I didn't mess up the piece." Chloe forced herself to breathe normally. Sweat beaded across her forehead. She took a big draught of coffee.

"Mess it up?" Robbie smiled and offered a warm chuckle. "Miss Sullivan, go to our website. I'll hold."

Chloe typed the address into her browser. She waited for the Bugle's site to come up. "Okay. Here it comes and…." Her eyes went wide. Her mouth dropped.

The headline read: "DR. OCTOPUS CAPTURED IN KANSAS. BROUGHT BACK TO NEW YORK by Chloe Sullivan and Peter Parker".

Underneath it, three pictures of Spider-Man's fight with Octavius in the Talon.

"That's…that's the article!" Chloe managed to stammer. She rubbed her forehead.

"It sure is! Congratulations, Miss Sullivan! The editors only had to edit a few things. Since you completed the release earlier this week, we wanted to get it to press."

"I…just…did it?" Chloe stared at the screen. "I'm sorry. I just…this is my dream. Thank you, Mr. Robertson. Can you thank Mr. Jameson?"

"You bet I will. I'll be calling Peter Parker later. I know it was a late night all around. You two got the exclusive! Our business office will be calling later to make arrangements to mail you a check or they can do direct deposit. Very nice work. No wonder Lex Luthor recommended you as highly as he did. Perhaps we'll see more of your work at some point?"

"Y…yes, Sir. Whatever you need, I'm here. Thank you for the exclusive. I know I can see online but is there a way I can get a copy of the paper sent to me here in Smallville? I'd like to have it. I know it's silly but…" Chloe requested.

"It's a perfectly reasonable request. Absolutely! I'll see to it that a copy is reserved for you. Take care, Miss Sullivan. Thank you. Have a good day." Robbie hung up.

Chloe trembled. Disbelief and Joy streaked tears down her face. "I…I…did it!"

Lana nodded. She hugged Chloe from behind. "We knew you would, Chloe. Just not like this. But you deserve this! I'm so proud of you!"

"We all made it through last night, Lana. I'm just glad Mr. Parker was so helpful. I mean it's…it's my first Page 1! My first Page 1! And it's this! And we just scooped the Planet and everyone else! Can you believe this?" Chloe beamed. She guzzled her coffee. "I wish the Talon was open."

"Yeah well. We should be back open by tomorrow. Maybe we should thank Lex in person?" Lana tapped her fingers. "We'll go to the Kent Farm first. Everyone will be so psyched there."

"Now that's an idea!" Chloe shut off the coffee maker. She powered down her laptop and slipped it into its bag. "Mind driving?"

"I'm good." Lana agreed while leading her outside…