Chloe sat at her computer revising all of the information she had
gather on Clark. Mainly, it consisted of news paper articles, pictures, and
a few documents about his adoption. Looking through some of the articles
she was surprised at how many weird things had happened around Clark. She
had known for awhile that he was hiding something but shrugged it off
because of the way she felt about him. Now, however, things were different
and the words of Lionel Luthor rang in her head "Once love has been
stripped away, you are able to see the person for who they truly are, with
all their flaws and their secrets."
What was it about Clark that had Lionel so interested? Chloe had always prided herself on having keen instincts and was used to seeing things that many would have labeled impossible but now her mind was blank. What was Lionel's motive for all of this? What was Clark really hiding? These questions provided her with renewed determination.
"This is one mystery that I fully intent to solve," Chloe said as she continued scanning her computer database for anything on Clark that looked suspicious.
"Wait a minute, what's this," she thought out loud.
"These are the e-mails Clark received from Dr. Swan," now that she thought of it Clark had never told her what that was all about. Well he had said something about Dr. Swan being interested in the symbol on Clark's barn but that was all she had gotten out of him. Chloe opened one of the e- mails which contained a picture of the symbol burned into Clarks barn, written below in bold letters was the word "Hope".
*************************************************************
Pete rushed through in the front doors of the Talon, he stopped in his tracks and glanced around the room.
"Lana," he called as his eyes stopped while looking in dark haired girl's direction.
"Oh, hey Pete," she replied while carrying a tray over to some customers.
"Listen, ah, I need to ask you something about Clark," he uttered quickly.
Lana walked over to the counter to continue the conversation. "Okay whats up?" she asked.
"He didn't happen to mention anything to you about where he was going did he?" Pete replied hopefully.
Lana paused for a moment, " No," she answered quietly. "Actually Mrs. Kent asked me the same question this morning, god I just feel so helpless" she continued starting to sound frustrated.
"Tell me about it," Pete said staring blankly at the wall sounding like his hope had been lost. Lana quickly broke the silence "So, have you spoken to Chloe yet?"
Pete looked up in surprise before making a response "No, I thought you would have," anger became present in his voice.
Lana struggled for words "I..well..I was going to tell her but..I just.."
Pete cut her off "Look it's okay, but I really think you need to be the one to tell her. She's already hurt about you and Clark getting together, she needs to now that you're her friend." Lana's eyes widened "How does Chloe know? Did Clark tell her?" she asked.
"Apparently she walked in while you and Clark were making out," Pete replied still feeling disappointed with how Chloe had been treated. Sure the he knew that neither Clark or Lana had meant to hurt Chloe but they should have at least talked to her about it rather than avoid her.
Lana looked down towards the counter feeling somewhat guilty.
Once again Pete spoke up, "Listen, I have to go and see if I can find any clues that will help us find Clark. I'll fill you in if I find anything; meanwhile I think you should talk with Chloe."
"Okay, thanks Pete," she answered. As Pete walked out the door Lana realized how different he was acting. "I guess this is hurting him just as much as it is the rest of us," she thought.
*************************************************************
Kyros walked through the streets of Smallville Tyrel following closely behind.
"We've been searching all day and still nothing," Tyrel said with frustration, "maybe he's dead." "Not likely," Kyros replied calmly "He's been here, I can feel it." He stopped for a moment and turned toward Tyrel "besides the only reason it's taking so long is because you insist on stopping at every shop we see."
Tyrel grinned "Well can you blame me? Look at all this stuff," he said turning to a soda machine and sticking his hand right through it and removing a can. Amazingly, the machine hadn't been damaged at all.
"I thought I told you not to use your powers in public," Kyros said. "Give me break, no one will see and if they do you can just do memory thing," Tyrel replied while opening the can.
Suddenly something caught Kyros' attention and he quickly turned gaze towards a young man leaving a coffee shop. "Well, it looks we've found our connection," he said while grinning in success.
*************************************************************
Pete rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt. Two men stood before him, by the way they were dressed he assumed that they were from Metropolis or another big city. The taller of the two looked very professional, he had short black hair, emrald green eyes, and wore a long black coat that looked very expensive. He also had a strange looking necklace, to Pete it looked futuristic but he guessed that it would have been normal to people in the big city. The slightly shorter man also seemed to be wearing expensive clothing but was dressed far more casually than his companion. He wore a silver colored jacket with black pants and black shirt. Like his companion he also had black hair and green eyes but his hair was slightly longer and his eyes were darker. Judging by their looks Pete guessed that the taller one was in his early 20's while the shorter was closer to his age.
"Their probably brothers," he thought to himself.
Finally the taller man spoke ,"Tell me, where can I find Kal-el?" he asked without even bothering to indroduce himself.
Pete was shocked not only by how strait forward this guy was but more so by the fact that he knew Clark's real name.
"What're you talking about man? I don't know any Kal-el," he answered trying to sound convincing.
A moment of silence followed before the man spoke "you're lying."
Pete swallowed not knowing what to do or say.
Then the shorter one spoke up "hey Kyros, maybe I should just beat the truth out of him," he said while cracking his knuckles.
Pete froze, he had no idea who these guys were but they obviously meant business. Just as he began to brace himself for a serious pounding the taller man began to walk away. The shorter guy looked almost as shocked as Pete.
"Let's go, I have no reason to question him any further," Kyros said continuing to walk away.
The shorter guy glared at Pete before following Kyros.
*************************************************************
Pete let out a sigh of relief as the two strangers rounded the next corner. "Whoa man, that was a close one," he thought out loud. "Who the hell were those guys anyway? How did they know that I knew Clark and how the hell did they know his real name?" Hundreds of questions rushed through his head. "As if there wern't enough problems already, now this," Pete continued to stand in the same spot not knowing where to go or what to do. Finally he reached a conclusion; he had to tell Mr. Kent about this, once that was done he would worry about what to do next. Quickly Pete rushed to his car and headed toward the Kent farm. "Things are geeting weirder by the minute."
What was it about Clark that had Lionel so interested? Chloe had always prided herself on having keen instincts and was used to seeing things that many would have labeled impossible but now her mind was blank. What was Lionel's motive for all of this? What was Clark really hiding? These questions provided her with renewed determination.
"This is one mystery that I fully intent to solve," Chloe said as she continued scanning her computer database for anything on Clark that looked suspicious.
"Wait a minute, what's this," she thought out loud.
"These are the e-mails Clark received from Dr. Swan," now that she thought of it Clark had never told her what that was all about. Well he had said something about Dr. Swan being interested in the symbol on Clark's barn but that was all she had gotten out of him. Chloe opened one of the e- mails which contained a picture of the symbol burned into Clarks barn, written below in bold letters was the word "Hope".
*************************************************************
Pete rushed through in the front doors of the Talon, he stopped in his tracks and glanced around the room.
"Lana," he called as his eyes stopped while looking in dark haired girl's direction.
"Oh, hey Pete," she replied while carrying a tray over to some customers.
"Listen, ah, I need to ask you something about Clark," he uttered quickly.
Lana walked over to the counter to continue the conversation. "Okay whats up?" she asked.
"He didn't happen to mention anything to you about where he was going did he?" Pete replied hopefully.
Lana paused for a moment, " No," she answered quietly. "Actually Mrs. Kent asked me the same question this morning, god I just feel so helpless" she continued starting to sound frustrated.
"Tell me about it," Pete said staring blankly at the wall sounding like his hope had been lost. Lana quickly broke the silence "So, have you spoken to Chloe yet?"
Pete looked up in surprise before making a response "No, I thought you would have," anger became present in his voice.
Lana struggled for words "I..well..I was going to tell her but..I just.."
Pete cut her off "Look it's okay, but I really think you need to be the one to tell her. She's already hurt about you and Clark getting together, she needs to now that you're her friend." Lana's eyes widened "How does Chloe know? Did Clark tell her?" she asked.
"Apparently she walked in while you and Clark were making out," Pete replied still feeling disappointed with how Chloe had been treated. Sure the he knew that neither Clark or Lana had meant to hurt Chloe but they should have at least talked to her about it rather than avoid her.
Lana looked down towards the counter feeling somewhat guilty.
Once again Pete spoke up, "Listen, I have to go and see if I can find any clues that will help us find Clark. I'll fill you in if I find anything; meanwhile I think you should talk with Chloe."
"Okay, thanks Pete," she answered. As Pete walked out the door Lana realized how different he was acting. "I guess this is hurting him just as much as it is the rest of us," she thought.
*************************************************************
Kyros walked through the streets of Smallville Tyrel following closely behind.
"We've been searching all day and still nothing," Tyrel said with frustration, "maybe he's dead." "Not likely," Kyros replied calmly "He's been here, I can feel it." He stopped for a moment and turned toward Tyrel "besides the only reason it's taking so long is because you insist on stopping at every shop we see."
Tyrel grinned "Well can you blame me? Look at all this stuff," he said turning to a soda machine and sticking his hand right through it and removing a can. Amazingly, the machine hadn't been damaged at all.
"I thought I told you not to use your powers in public," Kyros said. "Give me break, no one will see and if they do you can just do memory thing," Tyrel replied while opening the can.
Suddenly something caught Kyros' attention and he quickly turned gaze towards a young man leaving a coffee shop. "Well, it looks we've found our connection," he said while grinning in success.
*************************************************************
Pete rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt. Two men stood before him, by the way they were dressed he assumed that they were from Metropolis or another big city. The taller of the two looked very professional, he had short black hair, emrald green eyes, and wore a long black coat that looked very expensive. He also had a strange looking necklace, to Pete it looked futuristic but he guessed that it would have been normal to people in the big city. The slightly shorter man also seemed to be wearing expensive clothing but was dressed far more casually than his companion. He wore a silver colored jacket with black pants and black shirt. Like his companion he also had black hair and green eyes but his hair was slightly longer and his eyes were darker. Judging by their looks Pete guessed that the taller one was in his early 20's while the shorter was closer to his age.
"Their probably brothers," he thought to himself.
Finally the taller man spoke ,"Tell me, where can I find Kal-el?" he asked without even bothering to indroduce himself.
Pete was shocked not only by how strait forward this guy was but more so by the fact that he knew Clark's real name.
"What're you talking about man? I don't know any Kal-el," he answered trying to sound convincing.
A moment of silence followed before the man spoke "you're lying."
Pete swallowed not knowing what to do or say.
Then the shorter one spoke up "hey Kyros, maybe I should just beat the truth out of him," he said while cracking his knuckles.
Pete froze, he had no idea who these guys were but they obviously meant business. Just as he began to brace himself for a serious pounding the taller man began to walk away. The shorter guy looked almost as shocked as Pete.
"Let's go, I have no reason to question him any further," Kyros said continuing to walk away.
The shorter guy glared at Pete before following Kyros.
*************************************************************
Pete let out a sigh of relief as the two strangers rounded the next corner. "Whoa man, that was a close one," he thought out loud. "Who the hell were those guys anyway? How did they know that I knew Clark and how the hell did they know his real name?" Hundreds of questions rushed through his head. "As if there wern't enough problems already, now this," Pete continued to stand in the same spot not knowing where to go or what to do. Finally he reached a conclusion; he had to tell Mr. Kent about this, once that was done he would worry about what to do next. Quickly Pete rushed to his car and headed toward the Kent farm. "Things are geeting weirder by the minute."