The first light of day was creeping in the window of Lana's bedroom
when she finally gave up on trying to fall asleep again. She'd woken up
after what she supposed was two or three hours since Clark had left her
there in her bed. After that, all she could think about was the
conversation they'd had in the Fortress of Solitude. She'd begun crying
again and thought she would eventually cry herself to sleep, but that
didn't happen. She kept going over what Clark had said about her finding
someone else and how hopeless that idea seemed at that moment. Finally,
she started thinking about what she would tell Lex when she talked to him
in the morning.
After she took off her clothes from the night before and threw on a robe, Lana walked out into the hall and towards the dining room to see if Lex was at breakfast. She was slightly surprised to find him with a woman. Before she could say anything, Lex caught sight of her. "Good morning, fair sister. I believe you know Lois."
Lana made her way around the table and sat down opposite the dark-haired reporter who had apparently spent the night with Lex. "We've met once or twice."
"I'm sorry, again, that I cancelled on you last night." Lex watched as Lana took some fruit onto her plate. "You won't believe what happened to us, though."
"I'm afraid to ask. Obviously nothing too bad; you're here after all." She smiled, for the first time since she had first arrived at the Kent's the night before. "Were you held at gunpoint?"
"Well, we weren't, exactly, but the mayor of Coast City was." Lois was very excited to tell the story to someone else. "But, luckily, Green Lantern was able to rescue him."
"Lois even managed to corner him before he had the chance to leave." Lex smiled and looked at Lois.
"She must have a thing for superheroes." Lana winked at both of them, but then got serious again. "I was wondering if I could talk to you before you leave for work this morning, Lex."
Lex noted the sudden change in Lana's mood and quickly looked at Lois. She responded by standing up from the table. "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I really need to get to work. I'll just go grab my clothes and then I'll leave."
Lois leaned over and kissed Lex before leaving the room. A couple minutes later, she was on her way out the door and Lana and Lex were finally alone. "What's bothering you?"
Lana stood up from the table and made her way over to the window from which she and Clark had left for Smallville the night before. "Clark and I went to have dinner with his parents last night."
"That's great, Lana." Lex stood up and walked over to her. "I thought you wanted to spend more time with Clark. Chloe didn't go too, did she?" "No, it was just Clark and I, but." Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Lex put his arm around her, but she pulled away.
"I happened." Lana's voice was beginning to get exasperated. "I had to go and open my big mouth. I told Clark that I was still in love with him. Then I kissed him."
"Oh." Lex just stood there, entirely unsure of what to say. Finally, he figured something out. "What happened after that?"
"He basically told me that he still cared about me a lot, but that there was no chance for us now." She walked over and sat down on the couch. "Then he had to go and tell me that I would be ok, that I would find someone else."
"Lana, Lana, trust me. It's not too late for the two of you. I promise you that." He joined her on the couch and put his arm around her again. This time she didn't pull away. "One way or another, you and Clark will be together again."
"What can I get you two love-birds this morning?" The barista at the Starbucks in the lower level of the Daily Planet greeted Chloe and Clark as they made it to the front of the line to get Chloe her daily morning-dose of caffeine.
They'd both woken up just before the sun came up, and decided they'd walk to work for a change. It had been a long time since they'd been able to spend an entire night in each other's arms, with Clark having to go save someone all the time. "Well, I'll take a double cappuccino and a blueberry scone. This farmboy will have a caramel steamer and a cinnamon scone."
"No Problem."
Chloe turned to look at Clark, only to see him staring out the front of the building towards the LuthorCorp Tower. "Nickel for your thoughts?"
Clark slowly turned his gaze toward Chloe and took his hands in hers. "I'm worried about Lana. You should have seen the look in her face last night."
"It's probably better that I didn't. I might have succumbed to my baser instincts and clawed her eyes out." Chloe wrapped her left arm around Clark as they moved down the counter of the Coffee shop so that other people could order. "Really, though, Clark. She'll be ok. Lana's tough. Besides, its like you said, she'll find someone else."
"I know that, but I'm not sure that she does. It's what she'll do until she does that has me worried." Clark reached over and grabbed their drinks and scones as the Barista set them down in front of them.
"Yeah, Pete, it's Lex. I need you to do me a favor today." He paused as Pete responded to his request with a question. "No, Pete, I'm coming into the office today. But I need you to take the day off and come spend it with an old friend."
"Who?" Pete was hesitant to do any favor for his boss, especially one that required him leaving work.
"Lana, Pete, Lana was wondering if I'd give you the day off so that you two could catch up. You haven't seen each other since the benefit, and to say the least, things that night were a bit hectic." Lex laid on the mock sincerity that he'd grown so accustomed to presenting to the people in his life.
"Sure, Lex. Tell her that I'll be over in a few minutes." Pete and Lex both hung up the receivers and Lex turned to face Lana.
"You didn't have to do that, Lex. I'll be ok here by myself." Lana had little energy left to battle with Lex about this.
"I don't think so. You're a wreck. You need a friend with you today, and unfortunately, I have a very important meeting today that I can't miss. So, you spend the day with Pete, Talk, laugh, and if you can, try to get some dirt on Clark and Chloe." Lex turned to put on his suit- coat before heading for the door.
Lana started to protest, but thought better of it. When he got something into his head, it was almost impossible to change his mind. Besides, a big part of her wanted his plan to succeed. At this point she would give almost anything to be with Clark again.
"You summoned me, Ganthet?"
"The little blue-gray creature draped in a red robe turned to face the who had just entered the great hall. "Yes, Hal, Green Lantern of Earth, I have something very important to share with you."
The two made their way out onto the landscape of Oa, passing by the great battery that was the source of power for the rings of the Green Lantern Corp.
"Hal, I summoned you here to tell you that we are about to choose another Lantern from your people. We have not yet determined who, but we wanted you to know that it will happen soon. Do not worry, though, my friend, this new Lantern will be given jurisdiction over another part of the Galaxy?" Ganthet stood and made his way toward the battery where he seated himself at its base.
"If this new Lantern is to defend another part of the galaxy, then why choose him or her from among the Human race?" Hal was surprised at what Ganthet had just told him.
"Because, Hal, your race possesses willpower like no other that we have ever brought into the corp., and they also have the truest sense of justice that we have ever found. The previous bearer of this ring has been gone from us for a long time, we were unsure if we would ever find a replacement for him, but then you came into our ranks and revealed the true potential of a human bearer of the ring. That is why we will chose a human for this burden." Ganthet once again stood and made his way back toward the great hall of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"I thank you for your kind words about both my race and myself. Ganthet, I would implore you to consider carefully the choice you are to make. Not all humans have this sense of justice of which you speak so highly." Hal lowered himself to kneel before the Guardian. "Also, have you learned of Earth's new hero, this Superman?"
"We know of him, but all that we can reveal to you now is that he is not of your world originally, and that he is the last of his people." Ganthet placed his hand on Hal's head. "Now, return to your world and your duties. You will know when we have made our decision."
After that, Hal rose and made his way outside the hall before using his ring to return to Earth. He was worried about the decision that faced the Guaridans, and what the consequences of their decision could be.
Lois had gone straight from Lex's apartment to work, deciding against swinging by her apartment to change clothes. She was sitting at her desk when Clark and Chloe got off the elevator.
"Well, heard you had a hot date last night, how'd it go?" Chloe was the first to join Lois at their circle of desks. "Spill, spill."
"Not that it is any of your business, but I had a good time. Not all of it was because of Lex, though." A look of astonishment spread across Clark and Chloe's faces. "I got to meet Green Lantern."
"Oh really?" Chloe was even more intrigued than before she had asked Lois about her date. "What was he like?"
"Well, he's a very intimidating presence, all that green aura and the suit. His mask is kinda." Lois cut herself off.
"Sounds like you have a thing for Superheroes. First Superman, and now GL." Chloe smiled and winked at Clark.
Lois started to blush but regained her composure. "That's enough talk about my personal life. What all did you two find out yesterday?"
"My day was pretty unproductive, but Chloe told me that she found out something pretty interesting about our cloner friends." Clark booted up his computer and yielded the floor to Chloe.
"It seems that a rogue division of the government has teamed up with a private individual to implement the project, All that my source was able to tell me is that the private partner lives here in Metropolis." Chloe had pulled up her notes from the day before.
"No idea who it is?" Lois was sitting back in her chair, engrossed in what Chloe was telling them.
"None. The source wasn't even sure why they had begun their efforts in Gotham." Chloe closed the lid on her laptop and placed her hands on her desk.
"You're sure that this source is reliable?" Clark finally joined in.
"Pete turned me on to him, so I have no reason to doubt him or her." Both of her partners nodded.
"Ok. We all have deadlines to meet today, and I'm sure that the last couple of days have put us behind a bit. So, why don't we finish our articles for tomorrow's edition and then we'll get together and brainstorm about what to do next." Clark was already opening up his word processor.
"Sounds good to me. I could use a little time to process all this stuff." Lois turned back to her monitor and the piece she'd been working on before their arrival.
"Same here." Chloe fired her laptop back up and went to work.
After she took off her clothes from the night before and threw on a robe, Lana walked out into the hall and towards the dining room to see if Lex was at breakfast. She was slightly surprised to find him with a woman. Before she could say anything, Lex caught sight of her. "Good morning, fair sister. I believe you know Lois."
Lana made her way around the table and sat down opposite the dark-haired reporter who had apparently spent the night with Lex. "We've met once or twice."
"I'm sorry, again, that I cancelled on you last night." Lex watched as Lana took some fruit onto her plate. "You won't believe what happened to us, though."
"I'm afraid to ask. Obviously nothing too bad; you're here after all." She smiled, for the first time since she had first arrived at the Kent's the night before. "Were you held at gunpoint?"
"Well, we weren't, exactly, but the mayor of Coast City was." Lois was very excited to tell the story to someone else. "But, luckily, Green Lantern was able to rescue him."
"Lois even managed to corner him before he had the chance to leave." Lex smiled and looked at Lois.
"She must have a thing for superheroes." Lana winked at both of them, but then got serious again. "I was wondering if I could talk to you before you leave for work this morning, Lex."
Lex noted the sudden change in Lana's mood and quickly looked at Lois. She responded by standing up from the table. "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I really need to get to work. I'll just go grab my clothes and then I'll leave."
Lois leaned over and kissed Lex before leaving the room. A couple minutes later, she was on her way out the door and Lana and Lex were finally alone. "What's bothering you?"
Lana stood up from the table and made her way over to the window from which she and Clark had left for Smallville the night before. "Clark and I went to have dinner with his parents last night."
"That's great, Lana." Lex stood up and walked over to her. "I thought you wanted to spend more time with Clark. Chloe didn't go too, did she?" "No, it was just Clark and I, but." Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Lex put his arm around her, but she pulled away.
"I happened." Lana's voice was beginning to get exasperated. "I had to go and open my big mouth. I told Clark that I was still in love with him. Then I kissed him."
"Oh." Lex just stood there, entirely unsure of what to say. Finally, he figured something out. "What happened after that?"
"He basically told me that he still cared about me a lot, but that there was no chance for us now." She walked over and sat down on the couch. "Then he had to go and tell me that I would be ok, that I would find someone else."
"Lana, Lana, trust me. It's not too late for the two of you. I promise you that." He joined her on the couch and put his arm around her again. This time she didn't pull away. "One way or another, you and Clark will be together again."
"What can I get you two love-birds this morning?" The barista at the Starbucks in the lower level of the Daily Planet greeted Chloe and Clark as they made it to the front of the line to get Chloe her daily morning-dose of caffeine.
They'd both woken up just before the sun came up, and decided they'd walk to work for a change. It had been a long time since they'd been able to spend an entire night in each other's arms, with Clark having to go save someone all the time. "Well, I'll take a double cappuccino and a blueberry scone. This farmboy will have a caramel steamer and a cinnamon scone."
"No Problem."
Chloe turned to look at Clark, only to see him staring out the front of the building towards the LuthorCorp Tower. "Nickel for your thoughts?"
Clark slowly turned his gaze toward Chloe and took his hands in hers. "I'm worried about Lana. You should have seen the look in her face last night."
"It's probably better that I didn't. I might have succumbed to my baser instincts and clawed her eyes out." Chloe wrapped her left arm around Clark as they moved down the counter of the Coffee shop so that other people could order. "Really, though, Clark. She'll be ok. Lana's tough. Besides, its like you said, she'll find someone else."
"I know that, but I'm not sure that she does. It's what she'll do until she does that has me worried." Clark reached over and grabbed their drinks and scones as the Barista set them down in front of them.
"Yeah, Pete, it's Lex. I need you to do me a favor today." He paused as Pete responded to his request with a question. "No, Pete, I'm coming into the office today. But I need you to take the day off and come spend it with an old friend."
"Who?" Pete was hesitant to do any favor for his boss, especially one that required him leaving work.
"Lana, Pete, Lana was wondering if I'd give you the day off so that you two could catch up. You haven't seen each other since the benefit, and to say the least, things that night were a bit hectic." Lex laid on the mock sincerity that he'd grown so accustomed to presenting to the people in his life.
"Sure, Lex. Tell her that I'll be over in a few minutes." Pete and Lex both hung up the receivers and Lex turned to face Lana.
"You didn't have to do that, Lex. I'll be ok here by myself." Lana had little energy left to battle with Lex about this.
"I don't think so. You're a wreck. You need a friend with you today, and unfortunately, I have a very important meeting today that I can't miss. So, you spend the day with Pete, Talk, laugh, and if you can, try to get some dirt on Clark and Chloe." Lex turned to put on his suit- coat before heading for the door.
Lana started to protest, but thought better of it. When he got something into his head, it was almost impossible to change his mind. Besides, a big part of her wanted his plan to succeed. At this point she would give almost anything to be with Clark again.
"You summoned me, Ganthet?"
"The little blue-gray creature draped in a red robe turned to face the who had just entered the great hall. "Yes, Hal, Green Lantern of Earth, I have something very important to share with you."
The two made their way out onto the landscape of Oa, passing by the great battery that was the source of power for the rings of the Green Lantern Corp.
"Hal, I summoned you here to tell you that we are about to choose another Lantern from your people. We have not yet determined who, but we wanted you to know that it will happen soon. Do not worry, though, my friend, this new Lantern will be given jurisdiction over another part of the Galaxy?" Ganthet stood and made his way toward the battery where he seated himself at its base.
"If this new Lantern is to defend another part of the galaxy, then why choose him or her from among the Human race?" Hal was surprised at what Ganthet had just told him.
"Because, Hal, your race possesses willpower like no other that we have ever brought into the corp., and they also have the truest sense of justice that we have ever found. The previous bearer of this ring has been gone from us for a long time, we were unsure if we would ever find a replacement for him, but then you came into our ranks and revealed the true potential of a human bearer of the ring. That is why we will chose a human for this burden." Ganthet once again stood and made his way back toward the great hall of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
"I thank you for your kind words about both my race and myself. Ganthet, I would implore you to consider carefully the choice you are to make. Not all humans have this sense of justice of which you speak so highly." Hal lowered himself to kneel before the Guardian. "Also, have you learned of Earth's new hero, this Superman?"
"We know of him, but all that we can reveal to you now is that he is not of your world originally, and that he is the last of his people." Ganthet placed his hand on Hal's head. "Now, return to your world and your duties. You will know when we have made our decision."
After that, Hal rose and made his way outside the hall before using his ring to return to Earth. He was worried about the decision that faced the Guaridans, and what the consequences of their decision could be.
Lois had gone straight from Lex's apartment to work, deciding against swinging by her apartment to change clothes. She was sitting at her desk when Clark and Chloe got off the elevator.
"Well, heard you had a hot date last night, how'd it go?" Chloe was the first to join Lois at their circle of desks. "Spill, spill."
"Not that it is any of your business, but I had a good time. Not all of it was because of Lex, though." A look of astonishment spread across Clark and Chloe's faces. "I got to meet Green Lantern."
"Oh really?" Chloe was even more intrigued than before she had asked Lois about her date. "What was he like?"
"Well, he's a very intimidating presence, all that green aura and the suit. His mask is kinda." Lois cut herself off.
"Sounds like you have a thing for Superheroes. First Superman, and now GL." Chloe smiled and winked at Clark.
Lois started to blush but regained her composure. "That's enough talk about my personal life. What all did you two find out yesterday?"
"My day was pretty unproductive, but Chloe told me that she found out something pretty interesting about our cloner friends." Clark booted up his computer and yielded the floor to Chloe.
"It seems that a rogue division of the government has teamed up with a private individual to implement the project, All that my source was able to tell me is that the private partner lives here in Metropolis." Chloe had pulled up her notes from the day before.
"No idea who it is?" Lois was sitting back in her chair, engrossed in what Chloe was telling them.
"None. The source wasn't even sure why they had begun their efforts in Gotham." Chloe closed the lid on her laptop and placed her hands on her desk.
"You're sure that this source is reliable?" Clark finally joined in.
"Pete turned me on to him, so I have no reason to doubt him or her." Both of her partners nodded.
"Ok. We all have deadlines to meet today, and I'm sure that the last couple of days have put us behind a bit. So, why don't we finish our articles for tomorrow's edition and then we'll get together and brainstorm about what to do next." Clark was already opening up his word processor.
"Sounds good to me. I could use a little time to process all this stuff." Lois turned back to her monitor and the piece she'd been working on before their arrival.
"Same here." Chloe fired her laptop back up and went to work.
