[Metropolis General]
Clark arrived in the emergency ward out of breath. The police were keeping the on-lookers and TV cameras out the hospital.
Detective Reynolds called him over. "Did you see what happened, Kent?"
"No. She was already shot when I arrived. Have you heard how she's doing?"
The detective took him aside. "They just took her to the Operating Room. She's lost a lot of blood." Clark pounded his fist against the wall. "Look, Clark," Reynolds continued, "I've got the ETF scouring the First National construction site. No one gets in or out a three-mile radius without passing a checkpoint. Someone matching the description of a 'Mackenzie', a Thorne associate, was seen around the site .."
"Rupert Thorne!" Clark swore. My entire life, Clark lamented, I possessed such awesome power. I'm a coward. I could have changed this outcome. Even now, with Chloe's life hanging by a thread. I won't let it get to that point. I'll do what even Bruce hasn't done.
I'm taking Thorne down. If he resists, I'll make him pay. Chloe, I'm sorry.
Someone barrelled down the hallway. "Clark, you son-of-a-bitch!" Jimmy Olsen punched him in the jaw, and shoved him against the wall. "Your buddy, Lex ordered the hit, didn't he?" Several cops tried to restrain Jimmy, but he continued to lunge at Clark.
"It was Rupert Thorne, the mobster," Clark insisted, "Lex - he didn't - he wouldn't ..."
Jimmy was hysterical. "All she wanted was to bring justice to the city. Keep Gotham's gangsters out of our neighbourhoods. Lex wanted to make Metropolis into his own image. Chloe fought against that ... and now she's gonna die. And you ... you let it happen, Kent!" He tried to lunge again, but Lois stopped him.
"Stop it! Stop it, both of you!" Lois stood between them. She glared at Jimmy. "You lost the right to impose your wishes on the rest of us, the moment you split up with her. You wanted your career ahead of her happiness. You made your choice. So now you're back in town. If you're feeling guilty because you weren't here to help here when she needed it, that's your problem." Then she darted a glance at Clark. "Luckily for you, Chloe has something that'll set Lex Luthor's world on fire - Luthor and his mob friends. At least she had the courage to see deception when she saw it!"
Clark gasped. "What do you mean?"
"In the ambulance," Lois replied, "she thrust a piece of paper in my hand: the password to her Planet computer files. 'Publish the story', she told me. And that's exactly what I'm going to do!" She marched out of the waiting room.
Clark watched the chaos around him. Jimmy was adjusting his blazer - shaking his head as the cops warned him to calm down. Two more officers guarded the O.R. Chloe would be safe.
No thanks to me, Clark thought.
Jimmy, after several minutes, walked towards him. Clark stood up, towering over the hot-headed photographer. "If it'll make you feel better, go on, Olsen, take you best shot." He opened up his arms. "Go on, let it out, hit me, yell at me or something!"
Jimmy bowed his head. "Look, Clark, I don't want to fight you. I just got into town this morning. From the Caucasus war zone. I thought I'd left all the bloodshed behind. Coming here ... and finding out that Chloe ..." He crumpled on the chair and broke down. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I was stupid. I broke up with her, but I knew I had lost her when I made her choose between her job and my happiness."
"Jimmy, you don't have to do this," Clark consoled.
"She always valued you as a friend. Even when we were together, I realized you and Chloe had this ... connection. I wanted to believe we had that connection. I was wrong, and that's my fault for believing otherwise. I lost the right to watch over her when I left. You haven't, Clark."
He clutched Clark's arm. "If - when - she pulls through, look after her. Please. Maybe you won't be best buddies, but I want her to know she can count on at least one friend. Look out for her." Jimmy wiped his face and stood up. "I've got to get these rolls developed. Reuters has been on my back about photos of the Caucasus crisis. I'll be right back."
"I'll wait here ... and I'll let you know if Chloe's condition changes," Clark replied. Half an hour later, a surgeon exited the O.R.
"Any word on Chloe?" Clark asked.
The doctor motioned towards the couch. "The bullet narrowly missed her heart. But it punctured a lung. There was plenty of internal bleeding. She's in critical condition. We expect her to be in surgery for a few hours."
"Thanks, doctor," Clark nodded. Now she's in Fate's hands.
Clark stared icily at the hospital entrance. It's time to send Rupert Thorne to his fate.
His hell.
[Metropolis West hotel]
Clark had read the Metro P.D. reports. Rupert Thorne conducted business in the hotel's Cabana Lounge. I'll send him the message Chloe didn't get a chance to deliver, Clark promised.
When he entered the lounge, it was in disarray. Several splintered chairs. Smashed wine bottles. Two overturned tables. A blonde waitress - her nametag said 'Misty' - huddled behind the bar. Half a dozen of Thorne's thugs were unconscious. Draped over tables ... on the floor ... through a window ... or hooked onto the dart board.
And Mackenzie, the hitman, bound and gagged on the pool table. Snapped pool sticks lay strewn across the floor like toothpicks.
Enraged, Clark swung his fist. The blow would likely crush a skull. A boomerang sailed through the air, knocking Clark's hand aside.
"Clark Kent's no vigilante. That's not how your father raised you." Bruce appeared from the shadows. "Meet my friend, Mackenzie. He's going to tell the FBI everything, right?"
Mackenzie nodded vigorously.
Clark stepped over the eight-ball on the floor. "I see you've done some house-cleaning."
"Chloe's in the hospital and now you want revenge. Stop playing the Hollywood cliche, Clark. Revenge solves nothing. Nothing! You should know that, after all these years."
"What are you going to do about her?" Clark nodded his head at Misty, the waitress.
"Misty's my friend too," Bruce mumbled, "she's going to tell the cops everything. We'll get her a suspended sentence. I think she realizes that a mobster's world is not quite as glamourous as Thorne led her to believe."
Clark scratched his head. "I guess there's not much left for me to do, since you've wrapped things up."
"There is one thing," Bruce stated. He blindfolded Mackenzie and shoved him in a closet. "He can't see this." He pointed at Misty and directed her to the back office. "Stay inside." Bruce ordered.
Bruce removed his cowl. "I just wanted you to know that the person behind the mask is still the friend who helped you to train. To grow ... all those years ago. The mask changes nothing between us. If things change from now on, it's because you and I make those choices consciously. I'm interested in your choice ..."
"About Lex?" Clark answered.
"About everything. Lex. Your readiness. This path you want to take." Bruce put on the gruesome cowl again.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to your cape-and-cowl," Clark smirked. "Lex and I are history. You were right. My dad was right. A Luthor cannot be trusted. He loves power. That's all he really wants. As for Chloe, I'm afraid she may yet reveal my secret."
"We'll cross that bridge if it comes," Bruce stated. "She knows you want to retain her friendship - such as it is. What she does with your trust is her choice. I've let her know the consequences."
"How was Pete's radio launch?" Clark wondered, as he pushed aside a broken chair leg with his feet.
"Smashing success," Bruce announced. "Mr. Ross played the FBI tape that connects Lex to the Gotham mob. Now all of America knows about Lex's scheming. Luthor Corp. lawyers are petitioning to seize the tape, though. The legal battle alone will provide months of fodder for those media hacks - present company excluded. Pete gets to work in Wichita. I think he's in his element as a talk show host. I only hope CNN doesn't scoop him up."
Bruce opened up the closet. Mackenzie shook his head violently. "I hope Ms. Sullivan makes it through surgery, you piece of scum! Remember what I told you. She dies ... and I repay that mistake a thousand-fold. On your Gotham buddies. On Thorne. On you!" Mackenzie looked up at Clark, pleading for sympathy.
"You'd better turn him in before he wets his pants," Clark remarked.
"Are you telling me that you are committed to this cause?" Bruce added. "You take on that mantle, there's no going back."
"I said I am. What - you need proof?" Clark picked up Mackenzie and bound him on a chair.
"Clark ..." Bruce grumbled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sending my 'buddy' Lex a message. That Metropolis isn't his town any longer." Bruce looked out the window as Clark - clutching the terrified gangster in his arm - sprinted across the laneway.
And flew into the air.
Bruce gazed in awe at his pupil. When did he learn how to fly?
Misty knocked from inside the office. "Can I come out, Mr. Vigilante?"
Bruce called Metro P.D. One anonymous phone call will clean up this mess.
I wonder what Clark is up to ...
[Luthor Corp. Towers, 78th floor]
Lex Luthor had summoned his allies on city council, key investors, sympathetic congressmen, and the board chairmen of a dozen charities. A hasty news conference to demonstrate Luthor Corp.'s stability.
And strength.
News of the Luthor connection to Rupert Thorne was now surfacing on the local TV stations. By tonight, all the papers will plaster the story across their front pages.
Dozens of camera flashed snapped. Lex stepped to the microphone.
"Luthor Corp. has endured several trials over its long history. The gas crisis of the 70s. The environmentalists' sabotage scare tactics of the 80s. The paralysing recession of the 90s. The investor scandals of Enron and WorldCom at the dawn of this new century. Luthor Corp. has withstood all challenges ..." He paused for effect.
"And surmounted them. Recent news reports allege my connection to the infamous Gotham mob. I will not, on advice of my counsel, make comments on the facts of the case. I will exercise my fifth amendment privileges. I am launching a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Wayne Enterprises, the FBI, and Pete Ross. Luthor Corp. will continue to thrive! I am prepared to take a few questions at this time ..."
"Wasn't Pete Ross a friend of yours?" the Inquisitor's reporter asked. A flood of questions erupted in the room.
"Are you saying now that you have no connection to the Gotham mob? How can you claim that when several Teamsters unions insist that they're prepared to mobilize - in the event that you run for Governor of Kansas?"
"Confirm or deny, Mr. Luthor. You are considering a run for Congress. Surely these FBI tapes would put a damper on your plans, won't they?"
"In light of these revelations, do you feel responsible for the attempt on Chloe Sullivan's life?"
Lex pounded the boardroom table, silencing the crowd. "Pete Ross was a friend of mine in Smallville. I chose to re-energize Metropolis with my redevelopment plan. Pete, well, he chose to be a mudracking hack. That's his problem. I do not wish to run for office - at this time. No, I'm not beholden to the Teamsters. No, I have no connection to organized crime. Yes, I regret that Chloe was caught in a turf war between Thorne's hoods and the Metropolis mob. And no, I feel no responsibility for what happened to her. Let me reiterate: my defense team will present my side of the case. I have no further comments at this time."
A few heads turned towards the window. A bird was racing towards the building.
"Luthor Corp. ... will continue to serve the needs of all Americans ..." Lex continued, but more people huddled near the panoramic boardroom window. Lex glanced outside.
"It's ... it's a plane!" one woman shrieked. Whatever it was, it was accelerating. Closer.
The crowd began to push towards the exits. Something crashed through the window. Shards of glass fell across the floor. It skated across the boardroom table.
It was Mackenzie, Thorne's enforcer. Lex's mouth gaped in horror. Mackenzie mumbled incoherently.
"I'll tell you everything! Everything! Just keep HIM away!" Mackenzie screamed. Lex pushed aside the investors, reporters and employees. The gust of wind swirled papers around the room.
He stood at the jagged hole in the window. A streak - was it a plane? - zoomed away.
Someone who wants Thorne. That urban myth: the dark knight. It was him. It must have been him!
Lex spun around at the terrified crowd. "I want everybody out! Now! Out!" Luthor Corp. security guards herded them away from the room. A dozen police officers arrived. Detective Reynolds clapped handcuffs on Mackenzie.
"I'd be honoured to take out this trash for you, Mr. Luthor," Reynolds grinned. "Here's my card. I think we'll be having a chat sometime soon."
Lex stood alone in what was left of the Luthor Corp.'s Executive Boardroom. Employees referred to it as the 'Napoleon Room' because a portrait of Bonaparte hung against the wall. Lex brushed off the debris.
I haven't reached my Waterloo, yet, Lex pledged. I can't trust anyone. Not Thorne. Not those leeches in Congress.
Not even Clark Kent, who should have been loyal to me. God, I poured my resources into trying to save his dying father.
It doesn't matter. I alone can salvage my destiny.
My destiny is to be great. I will surpass my father.
I will surpass them all.
Lex began to pick up the scattered papers of his empire. A renewal, it seemed.
Nothing ...
... no one ... will stop me.
Pete crossed the line. I am now forced to crucify him, the sorry bastard.
If Clark - one day - repays my generosity with betrayal, that will be his error in judgment.
Mistakes have consequences.
Choose well, Clark Kent.
At six o'clock, the Daily Planet printed the full page front story. 'THORNE LINKED TO METROPOLIS D.A. HIT. LUTHOR AND MOB IN UNHOLY ALLIANCE' Wire services picked up the story. Chloe Sullivan had written the story of her career.
And she ran with it.
[Metropolis General, one week later]
Chloe laughed. She hadn't laughed like this for a long time.
Pete Ross, Lana Lang and Clark Kent were all there. Lex was also there - monetarily at least. He paid the bill for the private room.
"The moment I heard what had happened, I had to come over," Lana squeezed Chloe's hand.
"Ouch." Chloe still had intravenous tubes in her arm.
"I'm sorry I can't stay longer," Pete stated. He patted Chloe's shoulder. "Take care, and don't let the mob - or Lex - push you around. I'm just glad you're okay." He blew a kiss to Lana and left the room.
Chloe nodded. Even now, there's this distance between me and Pete. When Lana told me last night that Pete had once harboured feelings for me, I was shocked. All this time, and I never knew. Of course, I wouldn't. I was too busy chasing Clark, the man of steel.
Pete stepped outside the room. Clark leaned against the wall.
"It's too late, Clark," Pete declared, "The shit hit the fan. Your buddy, Lex, knows it. That's why he's suing me and Wayne."
"Lex isn't my buddy. Not any more," Clark admitted.
"The scales fell from your eyes, eh?" Pete scoffed. "Chloe barely escaped with her life, Lex is trying to destroy me in court ... and that's all you have to say?"
Clark frowned. "I'm ... trying, Pete. I've made bad choices, I know. Look, why don't we go grab a coffee, something to eat ... before you head back to Wichita."
"It's not that simple, Kent. I placed my trust in you. And you tossed it aside. You chose Lex's friendship over mine. I was there when your dad died, yet you turned to Lex for support. So now you see the light. That's good, good for you. It's about time! That doesn't erase the past."
"So how do we fix this?" Clark asked.
Pete bowed his head. "I don't know if there's anything to fix. I don't think we can be pals like we were at Smallville High. That bond's been broken. We'd have to start from scratch."
"It's a start?" Clark hoped.
Too much disappointment, Pete thought. We had our fork in the road ... and parted ways. If we do try to rebuild a friendship ...
"I'll pass on the coffee," Pete replied, to Clark's dismay. "I have to get back to Wichita tonight. Larry King is dropping by."
Clark extended a hand. Pete saw the gesture. And remembered a time when he could count on Clark's trust. Could I trust him again?
Pete shook his hand. "Keep it real, Clark, that's all I ask." Then Pete left.
Clark shuffled back into Chloe's room. Lana immediately read the disappointment in his face.
"Pete wasn't ready to make peace just yet?" Lana asked.
"I can't blame him," Clark replied. "To be brutally honest, I betrayed his trust. Misplaced my faith in Lex Luthor. That's something a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't going to mend overnight."
Lana stood up. "I'll be here until tomorrow morning. Perhaps we can all have breakfast here before I go?"
Chloe frowned. "I have some tests to go through tomorrow morning. They won't bring me back until noon."
Clark also nodded. "I'm covering the city hall angle on the Luthor crisis. I - could ask Perry to assign someone else ..."
Lana was clearly disappointed. Chloe, well, I can understand she's bed- ridden. But Clark. You could have sounded more enthusiastic about making time for an old friend ...
No one has time for poor, widowed Lana. "I guess this is goodbye then." She kissed Chloe on the forehead. "Take care, Sullivan." Clark walked her out of the room.
"I wish things had turned out differently," Clark lamented. "Among the four of us ... Chloe, Pete ..."
"... you ... and me." Lana completed the sentence.
"What if ..." Clark began. What if Whitney didn't propose to Lana? What if I had stayed in Smallville instead of pursuing glory in Metropolis?
"Please, Clark, don't go there," Lana insisted. "We had our opportunity. A long time ago. I chose Whitney, remember? You held a candle for Chloe. Pete backed away from Chloe when you began to show interest in her. We made choices. No one's to blame."
"Can't we do something about it? Turn a new leaf?" Clark brushed her face.
"No. No!" Lana shrugged him away. "When those two Marine Corps officers came up to the farmhouse, I knew that the world - as I knew it - ended that day. Whitney had died in some distant war. Forgotten by all of you. He, above all, was there for me! Don't you understand? I have no one. Not even you."
Clark hugged her. Lana's mind filled with the happy memories of her teenage life. Cheerleading. Managing the Talon. Graduation night with Pete, Chloe and Clark. Nothing would separate us.
Lana sobbed. "Why can't things be the way they were? Don't you see - that's why it hurts so much. The distance between all of us. It's didn't just happen. We LET it happen!"
Clark knew she was right. We should have been there for each other. I don't know what happened. Whitney's death - that proved to us that life was fragile. Precious. Maybe that's why he pursued our personal dreams with such passion.
And left Lana Lang on the sidelines.
Lana wiped her eyes. "That's all water under the bridge, isn't it? I'll go back to Smallville. Continue my studies at Leesburg College. Move on with my life."
"Don't ... don't go ..." Clark struggled for the words. A decade of regrets. I don't know where to begin.
"I'm glad you realized the mistakes you made with Pete and Chloe. With Lex. I was also naive - hoping that we could cling to our friendships after graduation. There's a lesson there: don't take anything for granted. Maybe something good will come of this after all."
She gave Clark a parting kiss on the cheek and walked confidently away.
I may yet run into Pete Ross. Journalists do tend to cross paths.
Clark watched the 'fairy princess' of Smallville walk away. I know today that I will never see Lana Lang again. She had the strength to accept that her future lies not in Metropolis, but in Smallville.
My future is here - and I still can't accept it. Lana was truly the strongest person I ever knew.
Clark reluctantly entered Chloe's room. Enter the final phase of my destiny.
My curse.
Chloe beamed. "So you're going back to the Planet soon? I hear Perry White has some plans for you."
"He thinks my 'experience' with the Luthors would help in the financial section of the paper. He has some ideas about a business ethics series." Clark bowed his head. Stay strong, he told himself. Focus on your path. You owe it to Bruce. To Dad. To yourself.
"That's great! Pretty soon, I'll be back in good health. Chloe and Clark ... tackling crime and fraud whenever it rears its ugly head. Just like at the Torch!" She had hoped that running with the Thorne story, instead of the 'Super Man' story, had smoothed over their differences.
Clark cleared his throat. "Chloe." He stopped, then paced nervously.
"Clark?" Chloe wondered. No! He knows.
"Chloe, I went by your office the other day. To retrieve that Metro P.D. report on Mackenzie."
Chloe slowly shook her head in disbelief. No!
"Some rough notes fell out. Sketches of a story. The Wall of Weird. The meteor. How it killed Lana's parents. And how it all connects to me. The meteor baby boy. The 'Super Man from Smallville'!"
He sat beside her bed. "Can you look at me - and give me your word that you didn't write that story?"
"Clark, I ran with the Rupert Thorne expose! I chose that story!"
"That's not what I asked. Did you write that story, keeping it in reserve until such time that my powers become a threat to the city or the country? Give me your word that you didn't write that story!"
"I can't give you my word ... because I did write that story. That night we had the argument. How did Mackenzie end up on the 78th floor of Luthor Towers? If you're taking after that Gotham vigilante, who knows what else you'll be capable of?"
"And how were you going to spring this revelation: 'Thanks for helping me with this story, Clark, now tomorrow, I'm going to destroy your life in the papers. I'll spill your secret. It's nothing personal'?"
"Oh, and I suppose you're the only journalist in Metropolis with impeccable ethics? I'm a Daily Planet reporter. That means I report the truth!"
"Your version of the truth," Clark grumbled.
"But I buried your story because you've chosen to be one of the good guys. You've broken your ties with Lex. You're not the potential threat you once were."
"At any time, you could drag that story out whenever you - you alone - decide that I have become a threat, as you perceive it. It's my life you're toying with!"
"We've had this argument already," Chloe turned her head away from Clark. "Are you saying we're at an impasse?"
"All of my friendships are in tatters. I've lost Pete. I've lost Lana. I accept responsibility for that. I cut my bond with Lex, the most powerful man this side of the Mississippi. There will be consequences. I can't take the next step in my path if I have to look over my shoulder every time you hand a story over to Perry!"
"So what exactly are you saying, Clark Kent?" Chloe demanded.
"As long as the story - my story - exists, I can't trust you. We'll return to the Planet and work on our stories. Share leads. Trade contacts and sources. Don't expect that I'll confide in you, like we used to in Smallville. We ..." Clark paused, and looked at the Metropolis skyline.
"We can't be friends. There, it's official. I'm tired of apologizing for being different. If you're not prepared to look beyond my 'abilities', I can never be sure if you'll hurt me."
"But I didn't print the story!" Chloe declared. Why is he being so self- important? A side-effect of his Luthor relationship.
"The story exists. Whether in hard copy or in some file on your hard drive ... you possess the story that could turn my world upside down. I'm not a threat. You are. Until you realize that, we're not going to have this discussion again." Clark put on his blazer.
"Get well soon, Chloe. I'll see you back at the office." He turned away and walked out of the room. He sat on a bench outside the hospital and waited for the bus.
He looked up at Chloe's room. This is my path, Chloe Sullivan. If it means that I must sever ties with one of the few friends I have left, so be it.
Clark stood up and ran. He kept running. Sacrifices are part of the game, Bruce had told him. He ran several blocks. He tried to purge from his mind a decade of remorse, misunderstandings and bad decisions.
"Clark?" Lois Lane stopped him on the sidewalk. "Are you alright? You seem, well, stressed."
Clark smiled. At least I can count on Lois Lane. "Can I buy you a coffee, Lois?"
"Okay, as long as it's 'to go'. I'm meeting the mayor. City hall is killing the redevelopment scheme. Anyway, you're avoiding the question. How are you?"
"I've been better," Clark replied. I will be better - once the Super Man from Smallville takes flight.
In the hospital, Chloe watched CNN. Pete was defending his name against Luthor charges that his reports amounted to 'character assassination'. She remembered a media ethics class she had taken in college.
A good reporter should follow these principles in every story, the professor had stated.
'Tell the truth as much as possible.'
'Act independently.'
'Minimize harm.'
She was confident that she had obeyed the first two. I'm telling the truth. The potential for danger is there. Clark may yet fall under Lex's influence. I'm sticking to the story: I'll print it if Clark becomes a vigilante - usurping the role of a cop - to pummel criminals into submission. I can't let my feelings for a friend cloud my judgment.
Friend. We were friends ...
Once.
In the summer of 2002, Lana had invited Pete, Clark and Chloe over for a picnic.
"I can't wait for school to start again," Chloe blurted. "I'm going to revamp the Torch. Maybe make some new sections ..."
"Ya gotta chill out, girl!" Pete remarked. "It's summer. School's the last thing on my mind."
Lana cut several slices of apple pie. "We've seen a lot of changes over the past year. But we've all stuck it through. I know this might sound silly, but let's promise that - no matter what happens - we'll always be friends."
"You're right, Lana, that is silly," Clark laughed, "of course we're going to be friends."
Lana suddenly became serious. "Whitney left me behind to join the Marines, and I didn't see it coming. I don't want that to happen again."
"It won't," Chloe promised. "You can always count on me." She placed her hand on Lana's.
"And me." Pete added, and placed his hand on Chloe's.
"Well, you know there were actually FOUR musketeers. Everyone forgets D'artagnan. We'll be friends. Always."
"All for one, and one for all," Chloe declared. They laughed as they shared an apple pie on a lazy summer afternoon.
Chloe returned to the present. Lex was now on the TV screen. "Pete Ross was a friend. Now he's a traitor."
"A traitor?" Larry King inquired. "Just because he's reporting the facts."
"Facts based on his version of the truth," Lex snapped, "He could have come to me. Given me a chance to explain. No, he chose to run with a flawed story. He betrayed my faith in him. If that's not treason, I don't know what is."
Chloe burst into tears. 'Minimize harm', the last ethical commandment for reporters. Clark wanted to have faith in me. Knowing that I could never back down from my principles, I've harmed my relationship with Clark - permanently.
Each of us chose our road in life. Pete, Lana, Clark and I ... we arrived at an intersection one day.
And never looked back.
[Metropolis Cathedral, midnight]
Bruce perched atop a gargoyle. Clark crouched on the roof. "I'd love to stick around, Bruce, but some of us have to work tomorrow."
"That's fine. I'll be leaving your city tomorrow. I've got a lead on Rupert Thorne."
"So Metropolis loses its dark guardian," Clark stated. "Where does that leave me?"
"The night belongs to me. It always has. Lex was right about one thing. Metropolis doesn't have to become a cesspool like Gotham. You can make it better."
"So when the sun rises tomorrow ..." Clark pondered.
"The day is yours. And every day after that, until you choose to give up that duty. Or until you become a bad guy. Then, I'll have to come back and kick your ass. You don't want that to happen."
"It won't," Clark replied. "Thanks, Bruce ... I - don't have the words ..." He turned to shake Bruce's hand, but he was already gone.
That's okay, Clark beamed. Metropolis has its own protector now.
THE END
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This marks the end of 'The Path'. One day, I may return to this alternate universe: a world where the Smallville 'friends' have taken different roads. Clark has assumed his destiny. So has Lex. Both at a high price. It's not a fairy tale, nor was it ever designed to be one. Perhaps the real tragedy is that these situations happen every day. You don't need Lex's wealth, Clark's powers, or Chloe's determination to take things for granted...]
Clark arrived in the emergency ward out of breath. The police were keeping the on-lookers and TV cameras out the hospital.
Detective Reynolds called him over. "Did you see what happened, Kent?"
"No. She was already shot when I arrived. Have you heard how she's doing?"
The detective took him aside. "They just took her to the Operating Room. She's lost a lot of blood." Clark pounded his fist against the wall. "Look, Clark," Reynolds continued, "I've got the ETF scouring the First National construction site. No one gets in or out a three-mile radius without passing a checkpoint. Someone matching the description of a 'Mackenzie', a Thorne associate, was seen around the site .."
"Rupert Thorne!" Clark swore. My entire life, Clark lamented, I possessed such awesome power. I'm a coward. I could have changed this outcome. Even now, with Chloe's life hanging by a thread. I won't let it get to that point. I'll do what even Bruce hasn't done.
I'm taking Thorne down. If he resists, I'll make him pay. Chloe, I'm sorry.
Someone barrelled down the hallway. "Clark, you son-of-a-bitch!" Jimmy Olsen punched him in the jaw, and shoved him against the wall. "Your buddy, Lex ordered the hit, didn't he?" Several cops tried to restrain Jimmy, but he continued to lunge at Clark.
"It was Rupert Thorne, the mobster," Clark insisted, "Lex - he didn't - he wouldn't ..."
Jimmy was hysterical. "All she wanted was to bring justice to the city. Keep Gotham's gangsters out of our neighbourhoods. Lex wanted to make Metropolis into his own image. Chloe fought against that ... and now she's gonna die. And you ... you let it happen, Kent!" He tried to lunge again, but Lois stopped him.
"Stop it! Stop it, both of you!" Lois stood between them. She glared at Jimmy. "You lost the right to impose your wishes on the rest of us, the moment you split up with her. You wanted your career ahead of her happiness. You made your choice. So now you're back in town. If you're feeling guilty because you weren't here to help here when she needed it, that's your problem." Then she darted a glance at Clark. "Luckily for you, Chloe has something that'll set Lex Luthor's world on fire - Luthor and his mob friends. At least she had the courage to see deception when she saw it!"
Clark gasped. "What do you mean?"
"In the ambulance," Lois replied, "she thrust a piece of paper in my hand: the password to her Planet computer files. 'Publish the story', she told me. And that's exactly what I'm going to do!" She marched out of the waiting room.
Clark watched the chaos around him. Jimmy was adjusting his blazer - shaking his head as the cops warned him to calm down. Two more officers guarded the O.R. Chloe would be safe.
No thanks to me, Clark thought.
Jimmy, after several minutes, walked towards him. Clark stood up, towering over the hot-headed photographer. "If it'll make you feel better, go on, Olsen, take you best shot." He opened up his arms. "Go on, let it out, hit me, yell at me or something!"
Jimmy bowed his head. "Look, Clark, I don't want to fight you. I just got into town this morning. From the Caucasus war zone. I thought I'd left all the bloodshed behind. Coming here ... and finding out that Chloe ..." He crumpled on the chair and broke down. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I was stupid. I broke up with her, but I knew I had lost her when I made her choose between her job and my happiness."
"Jimmy, you don't have to do this," Clark consoled.
"She always valued you as a friend. Even when we were together, I realized you and Chloe had this ... connection. I wanted to believe we had that connection. I was wrong, and that's my fault for believing otherwise. I lost the right to watch over her when I left. You haven't, Clark."
He clutched Clark's arm. "If - when - she pulls through, look after her. Please. Maybe you won't be best buddies, but I want her to know she can count on at least one friend. Look out for her." Jimmy wiped his face and stood up. "I've got to get these rolls developed. Reuters has been on my back about photos of the Caucasus crisis. I'll be right back."
"I'll wait here ... and I'll let you know if Chloe's condition changes," Clark replied. Half an hour later, a surgeon exited the O.R.
"Any word on Chloe?" Clark asked.
The doctor motioned towards the couch. "The bullet narrowly missed her heart. But it punctured a lung. There was plenty of internal bleeding. She's in critical condition. We expect her to be in surgery for a few hours."
"Thanks, doctor," Clark nodded. Now she's in Fate's hands.
Clark stared icily at the hospital entrance. It's time to send Rupert Thorne to his fate.
His hell.
[Metropolis West hotel]
Clark had read the Metro P.D. reports. Rupert Thorne conducted business in the hotel's Cabana Lounge. I'll send him the message Chloe didn't get a chance to deliver, Clark promised.
When he entered the lounge, it was in disarray. Several splintered chairs. Smashed wine bottles. Two overturned tables. A blonde waitress - her nametag said 'Misty' - huddled behind the bar. Half a dozen of Thorne's thugs were unconscious. Draped over tables ... on the floor ... through a window ... or hooked onto the dart board.
And Mackenzie, the hitman, bound and gagged on the pool table. Snapped pool sticks lay strewn across the floor like toothpicks.
Enraged, Clark swung his fist. The blow would likely crush a skull. A boomerang sailed through the air, knocking Clark's hand aside.
"Clark Kent's no vigilante. That's not how your father raised you." Bruce appeared from the shadows. "Meet my friend, Mackenzie. He's going to tell the FBI everything, right?"
Mackenzie nodded vigorously.
Clark stepped over the eight-ball on the floor. "I see you've done some house-cleaning."
"Chloe's in the hospital and now you want revenge. Stop playing the Hollywood cliche, Clark. Revenge solves nothing. Nothing! You should know that, after all these years."
"What are you going to do about her?" Clark nodded his head at Misty, the waitress.
"Misty's my friend too," Bruce mumbled, "she's going to tell the cops everything. We'll get her a suspended sentence. I think she realizes that a mobster's world is not quite as glamourous as Thorne led her to believe."
Clark scratched his head. "I guess there's not much left for me to do, since you've wrapped things up."
"There is one thing," Bruce stated. He blindfolded Mackenzie and shoved him in a closet. "He can't see this." He pointed at Misty and directed her to the back office. "Stay inside." Bruce ordered.
Bruce removed his cowl. "I just wanted you to know that the person behind the mask is still the friend who helped you to train. To grow ... all those years ago. The mask changes nothing between us. If things change from now on, it's because you and I make those choices consciously. I'm interested in your choice ..."
"About Lex?" Clark answered.
"About everything. Lex. Your readiness. This path you want to take." Bruce put on the gruesome cowl again.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to your cape-and-cowl," Clark smirked. "Lex and I are history. You were right. My dad was right. A Luthor cannot be trusted. He loves power. That's all he really wants. As for Chloe, I'm afraid she may yet reveal my secret."
"We'll cross that bridge if it comes," Bruce stated. "She knows you want to retain her friendship - such as it is. What she does with your trust is her choice. I've let her know the consequences."
"How was Pete's radio launch?" Clark wondered, as he pushed aside a broken chair leg with his feet.
"Smashing success," Bruce announced. "Mr. Ross played the FBI tape that connects Lex to the Gotham mob. Now all of America knows about Lex's scheming. Luthor Corp. lawyers are petitioning to seize the tape, though. The legal battle alone will provide months of fodder for those media hacks - present company excluded. Pete gets to work in Wichita. I think he's in his element as a talk show host. I only hope CNN doesn't scoop him up."
Bruce opened up the closet. Mackenzie shook his head violently. "I hope Ms. Sullivan makes it through surgery, you piece of scum! Remember what I told you. She dies ... and I repay that mistake a thousand-fold. On your Gotham buddies. On Thorne. On you!" Mackenzie looked up at Clark, pleading for sympathy.
"You'd better turn him in before he wets his pants," Clark remarked.
"Are you telling me that you are committed to this cause?" Bruce added. "You take on that mantle, there's no going back."
"I said I am. What - you need proof?" Clark picked up Mackenzie and bound him on a chair.
"Clark ..." Bruce grumbled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sending my 'buddy' Lex a message. That Metropolis isn't his town any longer." Bruce looked out the window as Clark - clutching the terrified gangster in his arm - sprinted across the laneway.
And flew into the air.
Bruce gazed in awe at his pupil. When did he learn how to fly?
Misty knocked from inside the office. "Can I come out, Mr. Vigilante?"
Bruce called Metro P.D. One anonymous phone call will clean up this mess.
I wonder what Clark is up to ...
[Luthor Corp. Towers, 78th floor]
Lex Luthor had summoned his allies on city council, key investors, sympathetic congressmen, and the board chairmen of a dozen charities. A hasty news conference to demonstrate Luthor Corp.'s stability.
And strength.
News of the Luthor connection to Rupert Thorne was now surfacing on the local TV stations. By tonight, all the papers will plaster the story across their front pages.
Dozens of camera flashed snapped. Lex stepped to the microphone.
"Luthor Corp. has endured several trials over its long history. The gas crisis of the 70s. The environmentalists' sabotage scare tactics of the 80s. The paralysing recession of the 90s. The investor scandals of Enron and WorldCom at the dawn of this new century. Luthor Corp. has withstood all challenges ..." He paused for effect.
"And surmounted them. Recent news reports allege my connection to the infamous Gotham mob. I will not, on advice of my counsel, make comments on the facts of the case. I will exercise my fifth amendment privileges. I am launching a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Wayne Enterprises, the FBI, and Pete Ross. Luthor Corp. will continue to thrive! I am prepared to take a few questions at this time ..."
"Wasn't Pete Ross a friend of yours?" the Inquisitor's reporter asked. A flood of questions erupted in the room.
"Are you saying now that you have no connection to the Gotham mob? How can you claim that when several Teamsters unions insist that they're prepared to mobilize - in the event that you run for Governor of Kansas?"
"Confirm or deny, Mr. Luthor. You are considering a run for Congress. Surely these FBI tapes would put a damper on your plans, won't they?"
"In light of these revelations, do you feel responsible for the attempt on Chloe Sullivan's life?"
Lex pounded the boardroom table, silencing the crowd. "Pete Ross was a friend of mine in Smallville. I chose to re-energize Metropolis with my redevelopment plan. Pete, well, he chose to be a mudracking hack. That's his problem. I do not wish to run for office - at this time. No, I'm not beholden to the Teamsters. No, I have no connection to organized crime. Yes, I regret that Chloe was caught in a turf war between Thorne's hoods and the Metropolis mob. And no, I feel no responsibility for what happened to her. Let me reiterate: my defense team will present my side of the case. I have no further comments at this time."
A few heads turned towards the window. A bird was racing towards the building.
"Luthor Corp. ... will continue to serve the needs of all Americans ..." Lex continued, but more people huddled near the panoramic boardroom window. Lex glanced outside.
"It's ... it's a plane!" one woman shrieked. Whatever it was, it was accelerating. Closer.
The crowd began to push towards the exits. Something crashed through the window. Shards of glass fell across the floor. It skated across the boardroom table.
It was Mackenzie, Thorne's enforcer. Lex's mouth gaped in horror. Mackenzie mumbled incoherently.
"I'll tell you everything! Everything! Just keep HIM away!" Mackenzie screamed. Lex pushed aside the investors, reporters and employees. The gust of wind swirled papers around the room.
He stood at the jagged hole in the window. A streak - was it a plane? - zoomed away.
Someone who wants Thorne. That urban myth: the dark knight. It was him. It must have been him!
Lex spun around at the terrified crowd. "I want everybody out! Now! Out!" Luthor Corp. security guards herded them away from the room. A dozen police officers arrived. Detective Reynolds clapped handcuffs on Mackenzie.
"I'd be honoured to take out this trash for you, Mr. Luthor," Reynolds grinned. "Here's my card. I think we'll be having a chat sometime soon."
Lex stood alone in what was left of the Luthor Corp.'s Executive Boardroom. Employees referred to it as the 'Napoleon Room' because a portrait of Bonaparte hung against the wall. Lex brushed off the debris.
I haven't reached my Waterloo, yet, Lex pledged. I can't trust anyone. Not Thorne. Not those leeches in Congress.
Not even Clark Kent, who should have been loyal to me. God, I poured my resources into trying to save his dying father.
It doesn't matter. I alone can salvage my destiny.
My destiny is to be great. I will surpass my father.
I will surpass them all.
Lex began to pick up the scattered papers of his empire. A renewal, it seemed.
Nothing ...
... no one ... will stop me.
Pete crossed the line. I am now forced to crucify him, the sorry bastard.
If Clark - one day - repays my generosity with betrayal, that will be his error in judgment.
Mistakes have consequences.
Choose well, Clark Kent.
At six o'clock, the Daily Planet printed the full page front story. 'THORNE LINKED TO METROPOLIS D.A. HIT. LUTHOR AND MOB IN UNHOLY ALLIANCE' Wire services picked up the story. Chloe Sullivan had written the story of her career.
And she ran with it.
[Metropolis General, one week later]
Chloe laughed. She hadn't laughed like this for a long time.
Pete Ross, Lana Lang and Clark Kent were all there. Lex was also there - monetarily at least. He paid the bill for the private room.
"The moment I heard what had happened, I had to come over," Lana squeezed Chloe's hand.
"Ouch." Chloe still had intravenous tubes in her arm.
"I'm sorry I can't stay longer," Pete stated. He patted Chloe's shoulder. "Take care, and don't let the mob - or Lex - push you around. I'm just glad you're okay." He blew a kiss to Lana and left the room.
Chloe nodded. Even now, there's this distance between me and Pete. When Lana told me last night that Pete had once harboured feelings for me, I was shocked. All this time, and I never knew. Of course, I wouldn't. I was too busy chasing Clark, the man of steel.
Pete stepped outside the room. Clark leaned against the wall.
"It's too late, Clark," Pete declared, "The shit hit the fan. Your buddy, Lex, knows it. That's why he's suing me and Wayne."
"Lex isn't my buddy. Not any more," Clark admitted.
"The scales fell from your eyes, eh?" Pete scoffed. "Chloe barely escaped with her life, Lex is trying to destroy me in court ... and that's all you have to say?"
Clark frowned. "I'm ... trying, Pete. I've made bad choices, I know. Look, why don't we go grab a coffee, something to eat ... before you head back to Wichita."
"It's not that simple, Kent. I placed my trust in you. And you tossed it aside. You chose Lex's friendship over mine. I was there when your dad died, yet you turned to Lex for support. So now you see the light. That's good, good for you. It's about time! That doesn't erase the past."
"So how do we fix this?" Clark asked.
Pete bowed his head. "I don't know if there's anything to fix. I don't think we can be pals like we were at Smallville High. That bond's been broken. We'd have to start from scratch."
"It's a start?" Clark hoped.
Too much disappointment, Pete thought. We had our fork in the road ... and parted ways. If we do try to rebuild a friendship ...
"I'll pass on the coffee," Pete replied, to Clark's dismay. "I have to get back to Wichita tonight. Larry King is dropping by."
Clark extended a hand. Pete saw the gesture. And remembered a time when he could count on Clark's trust. Could I trust him again?
Pete shook his hand. "Keep it real, Clark, that's all I ask." Then Pete left.
Clark shuffled back into Chloe's room. Lana immediately read the disappointment in his face.
"Pete wasn't ready to make peace just yet?" Lana asked.
"I can't blame him," Clark replied. "To be brutally honest, I betrayed his trust. Misplaced my faith in Lex Luthor. That's something a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't going to mend overnight."
Lana stood up. "I'll be here until tomorrow morning. Perhaps we can all have breakfast here before I go?"
Chloe frowned. "I have some tests to go through tomorrow morning. They won't bring me back until noon."
Clark also nodded. "I'm covering the city hall angle on the Luthor crisis. I - could ask Perry to assign someone else ..."
Lana was clearly disappointed. Chloe, well, I can understand she's bed- ridden. But Clark. You could have sounded more enthusiastic about making time for an old friend ...
No one has time for poor, widowed Lana. "I guess this is goodbye then." She kissed Chloe on the forehead. "Take care, Sullivan." Clark walked her out of the room.
"I wish things had turned out differently," Clark lamented. "Among the four of us ... Chloe, Pete ..."
"... you ... and me." Lana completed the sentence.
"What if ..." Clark began. What if Whitney didn't propose to Lana? What if I had stayed in Smallville instead of pursuing glory in Metropolis?
"Please, Clark, don't go there," Lana insisted. "We had our opportunity. A long time ago. I chose Whitney, remember? You held a candle for Chloe. Pete backed away from Chloe when you began to show interest in her. We made choices. No one's to blame."
"Can't we do something about it? Turn a new leaf?" Clark brushed her face.
"No. No!" Lana shrugged him away. "When those two Marine Corps officers came up to the farmhouse, I knew that the world - as I knew it - ended that day. Whitney had died in some distant war. Forgotten by all of you. He, above all, was there for me! Don't you understand? I have no one. Not even you."
Clark hugged her. Lana's mind filled with the happy memories of her teenage life. Cheerleading. Managing the Talon. Graduation night with Pete, Chloe and Clark. Nothing would separate us.
Lana sobbed. "Why can't things be the way they were? Don't you see - that's why it hurts so much. The distance between all of us. It's didn't just happen. We LET it happen!"
Clark knew she was right. We should have been there for each other. I don't know what happened. Whitney's death - that proved to us that life was fragile. Precious. Maybe that's why he pursued our personal dreams with such passion.
And left Lana Lang on the sidelines.
Lana wiped her eyes. "That's all water under the bridge, isn't it? I'll go back to Smallville. Continue my studies at Leesburg College. Move on with my life."
"Don't ... don't go ..." Clark struggled for the words. A decade of regrets. I don't know where to begin.
"I'm glad you realized the mistakes you made with Pete and Chloe. With Lex. I was also naive - hoping that we could cling to our friendships after graduation. There's a lesson there: don't take anything for granted. Maybe something good will come of this after all."
She gave Clark a parting kiss on the cheek and walked confidently away.
I may yet run into Pete Ross. Journalists do tend to cross paths.
Clark watched the 'fairy princess' of Smallville walk away. I know today that I will never see Lana Lang again. She had the strength to accept that her future lies not in Metropolis, but in Smallville.
My future is here - and I still can't accept it. Lana was truly the strongest person I ever knew.
Clark reluctantly entered Chloe's room. Enter the final phase of my destiny.
My curse.
Chloe beamed. "So you're going back to the Planet soon? I hear Perry White has some plans for you."
"He thinks my 'experience' with the Luthors would help in the financial section of the paper. He has some ideas about a business ethics series." Clark bowed his head. Stay strong, he told himself. Focus on your path. You owe it to Bruce. To Dad. To yourself.
"That's great! Pretty soon, I'll be back in good health. Chloe and Clark ... tackling crime and fraud whenever it rears its ugly head. Just like at the Torch!" She had hoped that running with the Thorne story, instead of the 'Super Man' story, had smoothed over their differences.
Clark cleared his throat. "Chloe." He stopped, then paced nervously.
"Clark?" Chloe wondered. No! He knows.
"Chloe, I went by your office the other day. To retrieve that Metro P.D. report on Mackenzie."
Chloe slowly shook her head in disbelief. No!
"Some rough notes fell out. Sketches of a story. The Wall of Weird. The meteor. How it killed Lana's parents. And how it all connects to me. The meteor baby boy. The 'Super Man from Smallville'!"
He sat beside her bed. "Can you look at me - and give me your word that you didn't write that story?"
"Clark, I ran with the Rupert Thorne expose! I chose that story!"
"That's not what I asked. Did you write that story, keeping it in reserve until such time that my powers become a threat to the city or the country? Give me your word that you didn't write that story!"
"I can't give you my word ... because I did write that story. That night we had the argument. How did Mackenzie end up on the 78th floor of Luthor Towers? If you're taking after that Gotham vigilante, who knows what else you'll be capable of?"
"And how were you going to spring this revelation: 'Thanks for helping me with this story, Clark, now tomorrow, I'm going to destroy your life in the papers. I'll spill your secret. It's nothing personal'?"
"Oh, and I suppose you're the only journalist in Metropolis with impeccable ethics? I'm a Daily Planet reporter. That means I report the truth!"
"Your version of the truth," Clark grumbled.
"But I buried your story because you've chosen to be one of the good guys. You've broken your ties with Lex. You're not the potential threat you once were."
"At any time, you could drag that story out whenever you - you alone - decide that I have become a threat, as you perceive it. It's my life you're toying with!"
"We've had this argument already," Chloe turned her head away from Clark. "Are you saying we're at an impasse?"
"All of my friendships are in tatters. I've lost Pete. I've lost Lana. I accept responsibility for that. I cut my bond with Lex, the most powerful man this side of the Mississippi. There will be consequences. I can't take the next step in my path if I have to look over my shoulder every time you hand a story over to Perry!"
"So what exactly are you saying, Clark Kent?" Chloe demanded.
"As long as the story - my story - exists, I can't trust you. We'll return to the Planet and work on our stories. Share leads. Trade contacts and sources. Don't expect that I'll confide in you, like we used to in Smallville. We ..." Clark paused, and looked at the Metropolis skyline.
"We can't be friends. There, it's official. I'm tired of apologizing for being different. If you're not prepared to look beyond my 'abilities', I can never be sure if you'll hurt me."
"But I didn't print the story!" Chloe declared. Why is he being so self- important? A side-effect of his Luthor relationship.
"The story exists. Whether in hard copy or in some file on your hard drive ... you possess the story that could turn my world upside down. I'm not a threat. You are. Until you realize that, we're not going to have this discussion again." Clark put on his blazer.
"Get well soon, Chloe. I'll see you back at the office." He turned away and walked out of the room. He sat on a bench outside the hospital and waited for the bus.
He looked up at Chloe's room. This is my path, Chloe Sullivan. If it means that I must sever ties with one of the few friends I have left, so be it.
Clark stood up and ran. He kept running. Sacrifices are part of the game, Bruce had told him. He ran several blocks. He tried to purge from his mind a decade of remorse, misunderstandings and bad decisions.
"Clark?" Lois Lane stopped him on the sidewalk. "Are you alright? You seem, well, stressed."
Clark smiled. At least I can count on Lois Lane. "Can I buy you a coffee, Lois?"
"Okay, as long as it's 'to go'. I'm meeting the mayor. City hall is killing the redevelopment scheme. Anyway, you're avoiding the question. How are you?"
"I've been better," Clark replied. I will be better - once the Super Man from Smallville takes flight.
In the hospital, Chloe watched CNN. Pete was defending his name against Luthor charges that his reports amounted to 'character assassination'. She remembered a media ethics class she had taken in college.
A good reporter should follow these principles in every story, the professor had stated.
'Tell the truth as much as possible.'
'Act independently.'
'Minimize harm.'
She was confident that she had obeyed the first two. I'm telling the truth. The potential for danger is there. Clark may yet fall under Lex's influence. I'm sticking to the story: I'll print it if Clark becomes a vigilante - usurping the role of a cop - to pummel criminals into submission. I can't let my feelings for a friend cloud my judgment.
Friend. We were friends ...
Once.
In the summer of 2002, Lana had invited Pete, Clark and Chloe over for a picnic.
"I can't wait for school to start again," Chloe blurted. "I'm going to revamp the Torch. Maybe make some new sections ..."
"Ya gotta chill out, girl!" Pete remarked. "It's summer. School's the last thing on my mind."
Lana cut several slices of apple pie. "We've seen a lot of changes over the past year. But we've all stuck it through. I know this might sound silly, but let's promise that - no matter what happens - we'll always be friends."
"You're right, Lana, that is silly," Clark laughed, "of course we're going to be friends."
Lana suddenly became serious. "Whitney left me behind to join the Marines, and I didn't see it coming. I don't want that to happen again."
"It won't," Chloe promised. "You can always count on me." She placed her hand on Lana's.
"And me." Pete added, and placed his hand on Chloe's.
"Well, you know there were actually FOUR musketeers. Everyone forgets D'artagnan. We'll be friends. Always."
"All for one, and one for all," Chloe declared. They laughed as they shared an apple pie on a lazy summer afternoon.
Chloe returned to the present. Lex was now on the TV screen. "Pete Ross was a friend. Now he's a traitor."
"A traitor?" Larry King inquired. "Just because he's reporting the facts."
"Facts based on his version of the truth," Lex snapped, "He could have come to me. Given me a chance to explain. No, he chose to run with a flawed story. He betrayed my faith in him. If that's not treason, I don't know what is."
Chloe burst into tears. 'Minimize harm', the last ethical commandment for reporters. Clark wanted to have faith in me. Knowing that I could never back down from my principles, I've harmed my relationship with Clark - permanently.
Each of us chose our road in life. Pete, Lana, Clark and I ... we arrived at an intersection one day.
And never looked back.
[Metropolis Cathedral, midnight]
Bruce perched atop a gargoyle. Clark crouched on the roof. "I'd love to stick around, Bruce, but some of us have to work tomorrow."
"That's fine. I'll be leaving your city tomorrow. I've got a lead on Rupert Thorne."
"So Metropolis loses its dark guardian," Clark stated. "Where does that leave me?"
"The night belongs to me. It always has. Lex was right about one thing. Metropolis doesn't have to become a cesspool like Gotham. You can make it better."
"So when the sun rises tomorrow ..." Clark pondered.
"The day is yours. And every day after that, until you choose to give up that duty. Or until you become a bad guy. Then, I'll have to come back and kick your ass. You don't want that to happen."
"It won't," Clark replied. "Thanks, Bruce ... I - don't have the words ..." He turned to shake Bruce's hand, but he was already gone.
That's okay, Clark beamed. Metropolis has its own protector now.
THE END
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This marks the end of 'The Path'. One day, I may return to this alternate universe: a world where the Smallville 'friends' have taken different roads. Clark has assumed his destiny. So has Lex. Both at a high price. It's not a fairy tale, nor was it ever designed to be one. Perhaps the real tragedy is that these situations happen every day. You don't need Lex's wealth, Clark's powers, or Chloe's determination to take things for granted...]