Part 3
Clark Kent can lift tons of steel with one finger. He was capable of running faster than a speeding bullet. And he can fly like a jet, or a bird, or a plane. But to his frustration, Clark Kent could not fix the boggling puzzle that was his computer's connection to the printer. He opened and closed the troubleshooting window for the nth time and sighed.
The shrill ring of the phone jarred the man of steel from his glareathon with the computer screen. He picked up the phone beside his desk. "Kent."
"Hey Clark!" the voice on the other line greeted him.
"Hi there, Pete. What can I do for you?" he asked warmly of his high school friend.
"Well Gabe asked me to give you a call."
"Really?" Clark had not really kept in contact with Chloe's father since the burial. It was probably guilt. He still couldn't look the man in the eye when all he could remember was the night he sat on the muddy ground, weakened by the meteor rocks, seeing Chloe and knowing he would never be able to gather enough strength to wade through the glowing green rocks to get her to the hospital. It did not help either that at the time, curled in the ground with pain, Lex had hissed at him, "I won't ask how you got here so quickly, or how you managed to lift the car frame from my leg. Just save my family."
"That's right. He's putting together a small dinner tomorrow. Lana is packing out bags right now."
"And he wants me to come?"
Pete was quiet for a moment. "Of course, Clark. You were one of her best friends. You were one of the last people she saw," he told him.
"I didn't save her, Pete. Even with all my gifts," he said quietly into the phone, making sure that no one in the office heard, "I wasn't able to save her."
"Clark, what happened was an accident. You saved Lex. And I know Chloe Sullivan enough that I think she's very grateful you did-even if he won't admit it."
"You're wrong, Pete. Lex hates me. You weren't there. I caused all the bad things in Smallville. I killed Lana's parents; I brought with me these horrible meteor rocks that mutated so many people; and I killed Chloe too."
When Clark had gone to speak with Lex about Gabe's desire to let Chloe go, the adamant billionaire had looked into his eyes and asked him, "If you weren't going to save her, why the hell did you bother to save me?" And Clark couldn't even defend himself. Explaining his weakness would require him to divulge his secret to Lex.
"Clark, no one is blaming you. If Lex got on your case about it two years ago, just let it go. He was in shock. The man lost his fiancé. I'm sure he didn't mean to cut himself off you."
Clark nodded against the phone, as though his friend could hear him. He inserted a disk into the slot of the CPU and saved his document. "I'll come, Pete. I was going to visit Chloe tomorrow anyway. I'm sure Lex won't even bother to put flowers on the grave. He never dropped by after the burial, did he?"
"Actually-"
"What is it, Pete?"
"Gabe. He told me. asked me. He wants you to invite Lex over."
"What? I can't do that, Pete."
"Gabe said he wanted everyone there. Did you think he wouldn't ask his daughter's fiancé to come too?"
"We don't speak, Pete."
"Do it for the old man, okay?"
Clark sighed. "Fine. I'll see you and Lana there." He hung up the phone and took his disk to Lois' desk.
He frowned when he saw the computer turned off. Lois usually left her pc running. He turned it on and inserted the disk into the slot. The word processor opened and brought up a recovered document. When he scanned the file to see if it was important, his mouth dropped open at the contents. It was details of an interview with Lex Luthor. '.he saved my life and took it away the same night.'
"I hope you have a good reason why you're snooping on my computer, Clark!" a voice behind him snapped.
Clark swung the chair around. "I wasn't snooping, Lois. I have printer problems." She nodded and sat on another chair, waiting for him to finish printing. "Why didn't you tell me you interviewed Luthor?"
A dark eyebrow shot up. "I didn't know I had to clear a piece with you first."
"Lois, I told you he's a dangerous man."
He expected a biting retort. Instead, Lois bit her lower lip and agreed. Slapping his hands softly away, she hit the down button on the keyboard, pointing out to Clark certain things that Lex had told her during the interview that unsettled her. "Clark, I think he knows who Superman is. I'm worried. He claims he has this capacity for evil that I think I saw a hint of." She looked her partner in the eye and said seriously, "Lex Luthor will do everything to destroy Superman."
Clark Kent can lift tons of steel with one finger. He was capable of running faster than a speeding bullet. And he can fly like a jet, or a bird, or a plane. But to his frustration, Clark Kent could not fix the boggling puzzle that was his computer's connection to the printer. He opened and closed the troubleshooting window for the nth time and sighed.
The shrill ring of the phone jarred the man of steel from his glareathon with the computer screen. He picked up the phone beside his desk. "Kent."
"Hey Clark!" the voice on the other line greeted him.
"Hi there, Pete. What can I do for you?" he asked warmly of his high school friend.
"Well Gabe asked me to give you a call."
"Really?" Clark had not really kept in contact with Chloe's father since the burial. It was probably guilt. He still couldn't look the man in the eye when all he could remember was the night he sat on the muddy ground, weakened by the meteor rocks, seeing Chloe and knowing he would never be able to gather enough strength to wade through the glowing green rocks to get her to the hospital. It did not help either that at the time, curled in the ground with pain, Lex had hissed at him, "I won't ask how you got here so quickly, or how you managed to lift the car frame from my leg. Just save my family."
"That's right. He's putting together a small dinner tomorrow. Lana is packing out bags right now."
"And he wants me to come?"
Pete was quiet for a moment. "Of course, Clark. You were one of her best friends. You were one of the last people she saw," he told him.
"I didn't save her, Pete. Even with all my gifts," he said quietly into the phone, making sure that no one in the office heard, "I wasn't able to save her."
"Clark, what happened was an accident. You saved Lex. And I know Chloe Sullivan enough that I think she's very grateful you did-even if he won't admit it."
"You're wrong, Pete. Lex hates me. You weren't there. I caused all the bad things in Smallville. I killed Lana's parents; I brought with me these horrible meteor rocks that mutated so many people; and I killed Chloe too."
When Clark had gone to speak with Lex about Gabe's desire to let Chloe go, the adamant billionaire had looked into his eyes and asked him, "If you weren't going to save her, why the hell did you bother to save me?" And Clark couldn't even defend himself. Explaining his weakness would require him to divulge his secret to Lex.
"Clark, no one is blaming you. If Lex got on your case about it two years ago, just let it go. He was in shock. The man lost his fiancé. I'm sure he didn't mean to cut himself off you."
Clark nodded against the phone, as though his friend could hear him. He inserted a disk into the slot of the CPU and saved his document. "I'll come, Pete. I was going to visit Chloe tomorrow anyway. I'm sure Lex won't even bother to put flowers on the grave. He never dropped by after the burial, did he?"
"Actually-"
"What is it, Pete?"
"Gabe. He told me. asked me. He wants you to invite Lex over."
"What? I can't do that, Pete."
"Gabe said he wanted everyone there. Did you think he wouldn't ask his daughter's fiancé to come too?"
"We don't speak, Pete."
"Do it for the old man, okay?"
Clark sighed. "Fine. I'll see you and Lana there." He hung up the phone and took his disk to Lois' desk.
He frowned when he saw the computer turned off. Lois usually left her pc running. He turned it on and inserted the disk into the slot. The word processor opened and brought up a recovered document. When he scanned the file to see if it was important, his mouth dropped open at the contents. It was details of an interview with Lex Luthor. '.he saved my life and took it away the same night.'
"I hope you have a good reason why you're snooping on my computer, Clark!" a voice behind him snapped.
Clark swung the chair around. "I wasn't snooping, Lois. I have printer problems." She nodded and sat on another chair, waiting for him to finish printing. "Why didn't you tell me you interviewed Luthor?"
A dark eyebrow shot up. "I didn't know I had to clear a piece with you first."
"Lois, I told you he's a dangerous man."
He expected a biting retort. Instead, Lois bit her lower lip and agreed. Slapping his hands softly away, she hit the down button on the keyboard, pointing out to Clark certain things that Lex had told her during the interview that unsettled her. "Clark, I think he knows who Superman is. I'm worried. He claims he has this capacity for evil that I think I saw a hint of." She looked her partner in the eye and said seriously, "Lex Luthor will do everything to destroy Superman."