Chapter Two

The armed man quickly changed his aim to Superman, wasting several bullets before he realized that it was of no use. In a desperation attempt he reached out and pulled the closest person to him, placing the gun to their temple. Unfortunately the closest person turned out to be Chloe, she screamed in panic as the barrel of the gun was shoved to her head. "What ya gonna do Supes," taunted the man.

Superman took a slow step forward; the assassin in turn locked the gun in place ready to fire. "Uh uh, not so close. Don't even flinch; I don't care how fast ya are. Ya ain't gonna stop this bullet in time."

Chloe could feel the hot tears flowing down her face. She was scared, something she hadn't been in a very long time. She began to shake uncontrollably, the tears coming faster, refusing to stop. Her heart pounded in her head, in one brief moment her entire life flashed before her eyes. While this was occurring something unexpected popped into her mind, a person she could always count on to be there for her, Clark Kent. She flashed back to all the times that he had gone out of his way to help her; she then remembered that look in his eyes. It was the look of pure solid determination; it was the same look that was in Superman's eyes.
She inhaled sharply as realization played upon her, all the things that she had seen Clark do, all the times that he had saved Pete, Lana, and herself. Finally those things were beginning to make sense to her; she looked deeply into Superman's eyes, a look of confusion on her face. The man of steel slowly nodded his head in admission, Clark Kent was Superman.

Superman's eyes began to glow red, his gaze fixed on the man's weapon. Chloe could feel intense heat hitting the side of her face, the next thing she realized the would-be assassin had thrown his weapon away and was shaking his hand in pain. Taking his chance Superman rushed at the assassin; in a blink of an eye both he and the assassin were gone.

There was a shocked silence over the crowd, each person tried to regain their composure. Chloe was still in shock of what just happened, jumping when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Slowly she turned around and looked up into the man's face; it had not changed much over the last nine years. His eyes were still the same cobalt blue she remembered, one thing did bother her. The skin around his eyes had tightened, as if he had seen to many tragedies, too many horrors than he cared to witness.

Her eyes saddened a little as tears began to flow once more, she tried to speak but found that her voice was failing. Managing to smile weakly, she wrapped her arms around him and held on as if her life depended on it. His arms slowly folded around her, she felt safe in his arms. No matter what troubled her, she knew that there was one person she could always depend on, Clark Kent.

He looked around as the crowd of journalist began to disperse; security guards were escorting people while Wayne's assistants urged him back into the building. Chloe let go of Clark, finally getting a hold of herself, she looked up at Clark and smiled brightly at him. "Long time no see, huh, Kent?"

Clark shook his head, a grin on his face. "Yeah, it has. How've you been?"

"Obviously not as well as you have," she said half jokingly. She lowered her head, biting her lip as a hundred thought ran through her mind. "You know, it all makes sense now. It's just sad that it took me so long to piece everything together."

Clark sighed deeply, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "I guess we have a lot of catching up to do, but here's not the best place for it. I know a great coffee shop, it's quiet and it will give us plenty of privacy so we can talk."

Chloe slowly nodded her head; a large dose of caffeine would do wonders for her right about now. "So," she said getting some her vitality back, "where is this great little coffee shop at?"

Clark gave her one of his famous lady-killer smiles, a slight gleam in his eye showed his good natured humor. "Smallville," he said in a deadpan voice. "You ready?"

Chloe shook her head and laughed in spite of herself. "Sure," she said with a slight grin. Clark scanned the surrounding area making sure that no one was watching, taking Chloe in his arms he shot off into the early evening sky.

The sudden acceleration made Chloe's head spin, before she knew it she was soaring above the clouds. Words couldn't describe how felt; it was a moment of wonder and of total freedom. The wind in her hair and face exhilarated her, for just a single moment she was able to suspend belief and see the world as it truly was. Looking up, she saw a look of pure joy on Clark's face. 'I was right,' she thought to herself. 'His head always was in the clouds, but who could blame him.'

The flight came to an end too quickly in Chloe's mind, landing in a small side street near the center of town. Clark placed Chloe gently on the ground, a wide smile on her face. "That was amazing, did you feel the same way the first time you discovered you could fly."

Clark shook his head and smiled sheepishly, "Yeah. The total freedom of mobility, going anywhere you please, nothing to stop you but your imagination."

Chloe began to walk to the mouth of the alley, looking over the small town that she had once called home. Nothing had changed much over the last nine years, Smallville still had its nostalgic charm. A timeless piece of Americana that could never grow old, something that reminded Chloe of old television shows. Yet somehow, no matter how many times she had traversed these streets, it still had a certain appeal to it. Wholesome, decent, it reminded her of values and ideals that were long abandoned by the rest of the world. It was nice to see a place that still held on to such values and one man trying to do the same.

They began to stroll down the street, reminiscing about the times they had from years prior, losing themselves in the past. They stopped at one building in particular, an old brick and mortar movie theater. Small circular tables were set up outside the building for people to sit and enjoy themselves in the early springtime weather. Inside, a few patrons were scattered about the coffee shop. Sitting in an empty corner they waited for a server to take their order, they made themselves comfortable as they waited.

Chloe looked around at the inside of the building; hieroglyphics bordered the walls near the ceiling. The walls were a sand color; the floor tiles a matching off-white. It gave the building a feeling of being older than it actually was, like most things in Smallville it had strong roots in the past.

"It's nice to see that some things haven't changed over the last couple of years. How did Lana manage to keep The Talon after Lex began to distance himself from the rest of us?"

"Well," a familiar voice broke in, "let's just say that it took a lot of work to get him not to tear the place down." The face had not changed much over the years; she still managed to keep her perpetual smile and jubilance. Her brown hair was pulled into a loose bun, simple yet elegant at the same time. The girl next door qualities that defined Lana Lang to a tee, wholesome and decent just like the town.

"Lana," Chloe said as she stood up to hug her. "It's so good to see you, how have you been?" She let go of her and moved in the booth to offer her a place to sit down.

Lana let out a long sigh as she sat, her eyes fixed on the Talon, a place she worked so hard to restore to keep the memory of her parents. "I've got nothing I can complain over; the town on the other hand is a different matter. Something big is a bout to happen to Smallville, and it may not be for the best."