Author's Note: Ok, I know that I haven't updated this in FOREVER, but things have been very, shall we say, strange in my life of late. Well, I hope that this next installment was somehow worth the wait for all of you who've been waiting patiently, or impatiently. Well, now back to the story. When summer arrives, I should be a little more regular with my updates.

The drive back to the planet took twice as long as the drive out to suicide slum, but neither of the ladies was interested in getting a speeding ticket and delaying themselves any further. It was ok to drive like a maniac at 5:30 in the morning, but an entirely different thing at 7:00. When they got off the elevator in the newsroom, they found Clark sitting at his desk, busily typing away at his computer.

"Oh, it's nice to see that you ladies could make it into work today." Clark smiled at them.

"Very funny, Clark." Chloe walked up to him and punched him in the arm. "We've been at work since before dawn."

"Yeah, I got your note." He reached up and grabbed her hand. "Did you all find out anything interesting?"

"Not really. Superman told us that he told you what he found out." Lois sat down across from her two co-workers.

"Yeah, he and Batman found a hidden lab in Gotham that it seems our friends from the past few days were occupying until a few days ago. They were conducting experiments in human cloning." Clark paused for the true effect of the information to set in.

After almost a whole minute of silence, Chloe and Lois both responded. "What!"

"That's insane, what exactly was in the lab?" Chloe fell back into her desk chair.

"Well, Superman said that there were tanks with human bodies in them, all of the bodies were brain-dead, being kept alive by the machines they were attached to. From what they could discern, something was wrong with the development process." Clark pulled up some of the information that Bruce had sent to him.

"This is getting crazier by the minute." Lois hunched over to see the schematics that appeared on Clarks computer screen. They depicted the tanks that held the cloned bodies. "Any ideas on who is behind it?"

"Well, Superman said that he and Batman only knew of three organizations or companies with sufficient resources to implement a project of this magnitude: Wayne Enterprises, STAR Labs, LuthorCorp, and the U.S. Government." The next set of files from Batman dealt with the various companies' experiences with cloning.

"I think that one of us should pay each of those companies a visit, see if we can find anything out." Chloe reached into her desk drawer a breath mint. "I'll take STAR Labs; Clark, why don't you go bug your buddy Lex; and, Lois, you can pay a visit to Mr. Wayne."

"That sounds like a good plan." Lois reached over and grabbed a donut out of the box on her desk before standing to leave. "Why don't we all meet back here tonight, around ten, and pool our information."

"If any of you find anything, let the rest of us know." Chloe put on her jacket, after which she leaved over and gave Clark a kiss. "It will be safer that way."

Five minutes later, each of them was on their way to their respective subjects. Clark took his time going to see Lex, since he had already talked to him once this morning. On his way to the LuthorCorp tower, he decided to stop by and pay Lana a visit.

"Clark!" Lana opened the door, still in her pajamas and robe. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way over to see Lex, and I thought I'd pop in here and see how you were doing." He stepped inside the door and gave her a hug.

"I'm fine. Lex said that Superman stopped by this morning for a chat." They walked into the living room and Lana sat down on the couch while Clark took a seat in Lex's armchair. "I guess I just missed him when I got up."

Clark noted the smile across her face and returned it. "Yeah, Superman told me about that when he stopped by the planet office earlier."

"Do you have time for some breakfast?" Lana got up again and headed for the dining room.

"Not really. I just wanted to stop by and make sure that you were doing ok, and that you were safe." He stood up and walked toward the door. "Everything seems ok, so I believe that I will be off to the Tower."

"Goodbye, Clark. Good luck with Lex." She turned to face him, the front of her robe falling open slightly, revealing her sheer nightgown.

Clark wasn't sure if Lana had allowed her robe to fall open on purpose, but she hadn't made any effort to pull it closed. "Thanks. I'll probably need it. He's a hard on e to crack."

He waved goodbye to her as he turned and walked out the door. On his way out of the building, he kept replaying the sight of Lana's robe falling open. If he hadn't known better, he'd have said that she'd done it on purpose, but pushed it off as just a coincidence. By the time that he walked out the revolving doors and back onto the busy sidewalks of Metropolis, thoughts of Lana were out of his head, and he was refocused on the matter at hand, Lex.

"I just need to speak to Dr. Jackson for a couple of minutes." Chloe was pleading with the desk receptionist at STAR Labs. She'd been there for a little over thirty minutes, having not gotten any farther than the main lobby. Just as she was about to give up, she spotted her subject walking through the doors into the lobby, seemingly on his way out of the building. Chloe turned and followed.

"Dr. Jackson." She walked up right next to him as they exited the building.

"Miss Sullivan. Its been a while, what, six years? You were in Smallville then, right?" Dr. Jackson remained facing forward, heading towards the parking garage two buildings away.

"You remember me. I'm impressed." Chloe was keeping up with him, stride for stride.

"It's somewhat difficult to forget a young woman with theories like yours."

"I'll give you that. But that isn't why I am here." She stepped in front of him as they entered the garage. "I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet now, and I'm working on a story. I thought you might be able to help me."

"Well, Miss Sullivan, I have to warn you that I can't talk about much of my work." He seemed to acquiesce to the new impediment in his path.

"That's fine. Just let me do the talking, and you jump in if you can." Chloe proceeded to recount the information that Clark had conveyed to her earlier that morning about the clones in Gotham.

When she finished, he just stood there. After a few moments of only the sound of passing cars, he finally said something. "I can assure you, Miss Sullivan, that it is no one associated with this company. I can't even make any suggestions of possibles, other than those you've obviously already considered, LuthorCorp, Wayne Enterprises, and the government."

"Yes, my associates are meeting with Lex and Bruce right now." Chloe reached into her purse for her cell-phone. "Thank you, Dr. Jackson."

As he walked away, toward his car, Chloe quickly punched up Pete's number on her speed dial. It rang once before someone answered. "Hello, this is Pete…"

"Pete, it's Chloe. I need to know if you still have that friend working in the for the President."

"Yeah, why?"

"I need to meet with someone to discuss a story I'm working on. I can't tell you about it just yet, but can you please set up a meeting with him for me?" She had made her way over to her jeep, illegally parked in a fire zone. She pulled out of garage just as the security officer made his rounds on the lower level.

"Sure thing," The phone went dead as soon as the words left his mouth, and Chloe was back on the streets of Metropolis, heading back to the office.

It had been a long time since Lois had made the drive to Gotham. It felt good to get out of the city and away from all the craziness that had made its way into her life lately. As she drove down the road, she found herself thinking about Superman, and the feeling of having his arms wrapped around her. She was brought out of her daydream by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

"Lois Lane." She put it on speaker so she could concentrate on the road.

"Lois, it's Lex. I was calling to ask you to dinner tonight." Lois could hear music playing in the background, Chopan, she believed.

"That sound like fun, where were you thinking of going?" She tried to shake the remnants of Superman out of her head.

"How does Coast City sound?"

Had Lois been holding the phone, she would have dropped it, as it were, she nearly swerved off the road. "Coast City!"

"Is that a yes?" He barely managed to suppress a chuckle at Lois's exasperation.

"Yes…yes it's a yes!" She managed to regain control of her vehicle and herself. That was when she remembered where she was. "Oh, but, Lex, I'm on my way to Gotham. I probably won't be back in Metropolis until late."

"What a fitting coincidence, that's where I am right now. I have a meeting with Bruce at noon. Why are you coming to Gotham?"

"I need to talk to Bruce about a story."

"I'll let him know you're on your way, have him keep a space open for you. I'll have someone there to pick you up after you meet with him, and we'll fly out to Coast City. There's this great Italian place there that you're just going to love."

"I'll see you then, Lex." Lois had a smile plastered across her face.

"Later, Miss Lane."

Now, the only thing on Lois's mind was Lex and dinner in Coast City. She pushed on the gas and zoomed toward Gotham, leaving thoughts of Superman in her wake.