A/N: Please forgive the delay in getting this up. I have been laid off and
looking for a job has to come first. all disclaimers still apply. Thanks
for all the reviews.
Blood Ties: Chapter 6
Wil and Clark made it back to the apartment shortly before dawn. Chloe had fallen asleep on the couch clutching the phone in one hand and the TV remote in the other. After getting Clark some clothes to replace the ones that he had shredded in the fight Wil gently picked Chloe up and carried her to the bedroom. Carefully laying her in the bed Wil stood over her for a moment looking at her peaceful face. The moonlight streaming through the window cast a soft glow across her sleeping form making her look like an angel as she slept. Moving across the room Wil sat in the chair near the dresser. As he sat he realized that he was covered in dirt and mud. Wil frowned knowing that he would have to stop watching her sleep if he wanted to get cleaned up.
Grudgingly Wil stood and made his way into the bathroom careful to close the door before turning on the light.
~*~*~*~*~
The smell of bacon wafted through the air jumpstarting Clark's brain. The smell reminded him of his mothers cooking waking him with a start. Sitting up he looked around seeing not his room at the club, but the apartment that his cousin had brought him to last night. Looking toward the kitchen Clark saw Chloe busy cooking.
Laying back for a moment Clark thought back to what Wil had said as they were on the way to the apartment. "I love her Clark. She had the right to know about me. I trust her and you should too."
His cousin was in love with his best friend.
Clark's head swam as he thought of the implications. He had discovered that he was not the only alien on the planet and that the other alien was not only related to him, but his cousin. That very same cousin had blabbed their secret to the one person that was most likely to tell the world and had done so because he was in love with her.
Clark looked across the apartment at his long time friend. She was working to get breakfast ready and had not noticed that Clark was awake. She moved around the kitchen apparently lost in thought. Clark recognized the look on her face. It was the same look he had seen on her face at the prom. It was the same dreamy look that she had given him just before he had left her to save Lana. Knowing that she wore that look for Wil made his heart ache just a bit. She had been his best friend for a very long time. They were so close in fact that she had been one of the guys instead of the very beautiful woman that was cooking in the kitchen. He had missed out of what was right in front of him and hurt his best friend in the process. Choosing Lana over her must have broken her heart. Nothing else would explain her actions on the farm that day. She had told him off in an attempt to make the pain easier to deal with. He had hurt her by lying to her about his relationship with Lana. They should have told her from the beginning. Now he would have to regain her trust as well as her friendship. That might be a very long and lonely road to walk down.
Clark let a small sigh escape as he swung his feet off the couch. "Time to face the music"
~*~*~*~*~
Chloe had woken to find the Wil sitting in the chair near the dresser asleep. She realized that he must have moved her to the bed when he got home. Quietly she got up and took a shower. After that she went to the kitchen to get some coffee started and cook him some breakfast. She wanted to know what had happened, concerned by the bruises on his face. Concern turned to contentment when she had noticed Clark lying asleep on the couch.
It was obvious that they had fought. She knew that he would not be here unless Wil had managed to knock some sense into him. A whole range of emotions came flooding back to her as she stood watching the coffee brew. She wanted to be mad at the man sleeping in the living room. He had broken her heart and now he had caused the man that she loved pain. Try as she might she could not bring her self to be angry with him. He had not intended to hurt her, and though she cared for Wil he could take care of himself.
Clark had been her friend since they were eight years old. Of course she had been madly in love with him from the moment they met. She thought back to the many nights that she had lain in bed praying that he would notice that she was a girl instead of just a friend with breasts. Chloe blushed a bit as she remembered some of the lame attempts to get Clark to notice her. One specific instance came to mind that caused her to turn beet red.
She had intentionally gotten in the shower just before Clark was suppose to meet her to study. She had hoped that the site of her dripping wet wearing only a towel would get the gears moving. Instead she had sat on her bed until she finally air-dried. It wasn't until Wil had told her the secret that she realized that he had been off saving Lana while he should have been there with her.
Chloe decided that she would forgive Clark and then make sure that Wil knew that she was very much a woman and that there was nothing that Lana or any other woman had to offer him that she couldn't provide in spades. She wouldn't make the mistakes with him that she had with Clark. She wanted him in her life and she was going to make sure he knew it.
Chloe blushed again, but for a wholly different reason. Smiling as she cooked she failed to notice that she was being watched from across the room.
Clark reached the breakfast bar and noticed that Chloe was blushing like mad.
"Morning Chlo"
"AHH! Dammit Clark! Don't you know better to sneak up on someone cooking?" Smiling across the bar Chloe slung a dishrag at her friend. "Have a seat, I'll get you some coffee"
"Same old Chloe, I see. You still in denial about your addiction?"
"I'm not an addict. Addicts go to meetings and stuff."
"Riiight, and I am not an alien."
Chloe and Clark looked at each other for quite a while. Chloe finally broke the stalemate.
"You should have told me"
"I know that now. I'm so sorry. I just didn't know what you would do. With the wall of weird and stuff I was worried that you might freak or."
"You know Clark, there was a time when I was madly in love with you. So much so that it made my heart ache to look at you. Even after I resigned my self to the fact that we would never be more than friends I still would have died for you. I would have taken your secret to the grave if you had just asked me to." Looking at her friend across the bar Chloe sighed.
"Now I'm not sure what to do. I want you to know that I love Wil very much. If for nothing more than to protect him I will keep your secret. Please understand that I will always care for you, but right now you have a lot of trust to gain back. You lied to me from day one, and even after we had been friends for several years you continued to lie."
"What's worse was that you held such a low opinion of me that you couldn't be truthful with me about little things like you and Lana. I'm going to have to think long and hard about that before I decide if I want to let you back in my life again."
"Chloe I'm so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. I thought that I was protecting you by not telling you. Please don't walk away from this friendship. I need you Chlo, you're my best friend."
"You should have thought about that a bit more before you left." Turning her back to Clark she opened the fridge to get the butter. Turning back to the counter she started buttering some toast that had just popped up from the toaster. " I need some time to think about this Clark. Its not every day that you discover that your best friend had lied to you since the first day you met. I'll make you a deal. You promise to make up with your folks and that you will tell me the truth from here on out and I'll give you a second chance."
"Only if you will admit to your coffee problem." Smiling with the signature Kent smile, Clark threw the dishrag back at Chloe.
"Cute, Kent, cute. Remember, no more lies, ok?"
"No matter what, from here on out you get the truth. Wil and I talked about that last night. The people I love deserve to know."
"This mean your going to tell Lana?"
"That is not a conversation I'm looking forward to."
"Just be honest. If she loves you even half as much as I think she does it will be fine."
Smiling at Clark, Chloe threw the dishrag back. "Though, you might want to leave out the anal probing stuff till you are out of the dog house."
Chloe squealed as she ducked the rag. Popping back up she shot her best friend a grin that would melt the icecaps.
"Welcome back Clark. Its good to have you home."
~*~*~*~*~
Lionel Luthor sat at his desk reading a report that had been handed to him nearly an hour ago. Project overlord was nearly ready to begin testing. Helen had brought more that her good looks to the table when she defected to his side. Though the attempt on his sons life had failed Helen had delivered a vial that was well worth the price he paid.
The DNA from the blood sample proved to be nothing short of amazing. It held the keys to all they had been working on in level three and would allow Luthor Corp. to corner the market in the bio weapons arena.
Helen was currently working on several strains of a retro virus that would allow the different traits of the DNA to be passed to any subject they choose. The healing factor that they had seen in the original 'donor' alone would be worth millions.
A coughing fit wracked the older man's body. Hands shaking, Lionel reached into his jacket and retrieved the inhaler that continued his medicine. The attacks were coming more frequently than the doctors predicted. Helen would have to succeed and soon.
Lex had managed to survive the plane crash, and though he did not have any proof of the collaboration between his father and wife, Lex would surely be suspicious. If Lex began digging again Lionel would have to remove his son in a more permanent way. He had hoped that silencing his son would not be necessary, but his investigations and snooping had led him to close to the truth about level three and inadvertently about Clark Kent.
The intercom on his disk bussed rousing Lionel from his musing.
"Sir, Dr. Bryce is here."
"Thank you Sharon. Show her in please"
The double doors to the office swung inward as Helen walked across the room toward the large marble desk.
"Good morning Dr. Bryce."
"Good morning Mr. Luthor"
"I take it you have pressing news to come all the way up here"
"Project Overlord is ready"
Smiling like a jackal, Lionel leaned back from the desk. Reclining back in the huge leather chair the smile he wore made his face seem almost demonic.
"I take it you were able to replicate the DNA from the Kent sample successfully?"
"Yes sir. I was able to remove the kryptonite from the sample without damaging the Dna. We have enough genetic material for 3 tries. After that we will need to get another sample."
"Good. Proceed immediately. How soon can you have the retro-virus ready for testing?"
"Assuming that nothing goes wrong and the don't exhaust the three samples? I should be ready in three months."
"Excellent."
"The only other thing we need to decide is who the subject will be. This virus will recode the DNA of any subject it infects. The effects could prove fatal, but if it works we will want someone we can control."
"That's where this comes in my dear Helen." Sliding open a desk drawer Lionel picked up a small box. Sliding it across the desk towards Helen, His smile widened.
"You see my dear, controlling the men of steel we are planning on creating will be simple. Every dog has a leash, and so will our subjects. The implant you hold in your hand will be carefully inserted into the vascular system of each subject. With a press of a button I will be able to release a very fatal dose of the refined meteor rock directly into their blood stream."
Pausing for a moment to look at the deadly object she held, Helen looked back to the older man sitting in front of her.
"What about another sample? I have enough genetic material for the time being, but I will need more soon."
"Young Mr. Kent will simply have to be convinced to provide us with another sample."
Looking at the desk the file that Lionel had been reading lay open in front of her. Inside were a multitude of surveillance photos of Clarks family and friends.
~*~*~*~*~
Blood Ties: Chapter 6
Wil and Clark made it back to the apartment shortly before dawn. Chloe had fallen asleep on the couch clutching the phone in one hand and the TV remote in the other. After getting Clark some clothes to replace the ones that he had shredded in the fight Wil gently picked Chloe up and carried her to the bedroom. Carefully laying her in the bed Wil stood over her for a moment looking at her peaceful face. The moonlight streaming through the window cast a soft glow across her sleeping form making her look like an angel as she slept. Moving across the room Wil sat in the chair near the dresser. As he sat he realized that he was covered in dirt and mud. Wil frowned knowing that he would have to stop watching her sleep if he wanted to get cleaned up.
Grudgingly Wil stood and made his way into the bathroom careful to close the door before turning on the light.
~*~*~*~*~
The smell of bacon wafted through the air jumpstarting Clark's brain. The smell reminded him of his mothers cooking waking him with a start. Sitting up he looked around seeing not his room at the club, but the apartment that his cousin had brought him to last night. Looking toward the kitchen Clark saw Chloe busy cooking.
Laying back for a moment Clark thought back to what Wil had said as they were on the way to the apartment. "I love her Clark. She had the right to know about me. I trust her and you should too."
His cousin was in love with his best friend.
Clark's head swam as he thought of the implications. He had discovered that he was not the only alien on the planet and that the other alien was not only related to him, but his cousin. That very same cousin had blabbed their secret to the one person that was most likely to tell the world and had done so because he was in love with her.
Clark looked across the apartment at his long time friend. She was working to get breakfast ready and had not noticed that Clark was awake. She moved around the kitchen apparently lost in thought. Clark recognized the look on her face. It was the same look he had seen on her face at the prom. It was the same dreamy look that she had given him just before he had left her to save Lana. Knowing that she wore that look for Wil made his heart ache just a bit. She had been his best friend for a very long time. They were so close in fact that she had been one of the guys instead of the very beautiful woman that was cooking in the kitchen. He had missed out of what was right in front of him and hurt his best friend in the process. Choosing Lana over her must have broken her heart. Nothing else would explain her actions on the farm that day. She had told him off in an attempt to make the pain easier to deal with. He had hurt her by lying to her about his relationship with Lana. They should have told her from the beginning. Now he would have to regain her trust as well as her friendship. That might be a very long and lonely road to walk down.
Clark let a small sigh escape as he swung his feet off the couch. "Time to face the music"
~*~*~*~*~
Chloe had woken to find the Wil sitting in the chair near the dresser asleep. She realized that he must have moved her to the bed when he got home. Quietly she got up and took a shower. After that she went to the kitchen to get some coffee started and cook him some breakfast. She wanted to know what had happened, concerned by the bruises on his face. Concern turned to contentment when she had noticed Clark lying asleep on the couch.
It was obvious that they had fought. She knew that he would not be here unless Wil had managed to knock some sense into him. A whole range of emotions came flooding back to her as she stood watching the coffee brew. She wanted to be mad at the man sleeping in the living room. He had broken her heart and now he had caused the man that she loved pain. Try as she might she could not bring her self to be angry with him. He had not intended to hurt her, and though she cared for Wil he could take care of himself.
Clark had been her friend since they were eight years old. Of course she had been madly in love with him from the moment they met. She thought back to the many nights that she had lain in bed praying that he would notice that she was a girl instead of just a friend with breasts. Chloe blushed a bit as she remembered some of the lame attempts to get Clark to notice her. One specific instance came to mind that caused her to turn beet red.
She had intentionally gotten in the shower just before Clark was suppose to meet her to study. She had hoped that the site of her dripping wet wearing only a towel would get the gears moving. Instead she had sat on her bed until she finally air-dried. It wasn't until Wil had told her the secret that she realized that he had been off saving Lana while he should have been there with her.
Chloe decided that she would forgive Clark and then make sure that Wil knew that she was very much a woman and that there was nothing that Lana or any other woman had to offer him that she couldn't provide in spades. She wouldn't make the mistakes with him that she had with Clark. She wanted him in her life and she was going to make sure he knew it.
Chloe blushed again, but for a wholly different reason. Smiling as she cooked she failed to notice that she was being watched from across the room.
Clark reached the breakfast bar and noticed that Chloe was blushing like mad.
"Morning Chlo"
"AHH! Dammit Clark! Don't you know better to sneak up on someone cooking?" Smiling across the bar Chloe slung a dishrag at her friend. "Have a seat, I'll get you some coffee"
"Same old Chloe, I see. You still in denial about your addiction?"
"I'm not an addict. Addicts go to meetings and stuff."
"Riiight, and I am not an alien."
Chloe and Clark looked at each other for quite a while. Chloe finally broke the stalemate.
"You should have told me"
"I know that now. I'm so sorry. I just didn't know what you would do. With the wall of weird and stuff I was worried that you might freak or."
"You know Clark, there was a time when I was madly in love with you. So much so that it made my heart ache to look at you. Even after I resigned my self to the fact that we would never be more than friends I still would have died for you. I would have taken your secret to the grave if you had just asked me to." Looking at her friend across the bar Chloe sighed.
"Now I'm not sure what to do. I want you to know that I love Wil very much. If for nothing more than to protect him I will keep your secret. Please understand that I will always care for you, but right now you have a lot of trust to gain back. You lied to me from day one, and even after we had been friends for several years you continued to lie."
"What's worse was that you held such a low opinion of me that you couldn't be truthful with me about little things like you and Lana. I'm going to have to think long and hard about that before I decide if I want to let you back in my life again."
"Chloe I'm so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. I thought that I was protecting you by not telling you. Please don't walk away from this friendship. I need you Chlo, you're my best friend."
"You should have thought about that a bit more before you left." Turning her back to Clark she opened the fridge to get the butter. Turning back to the counter she started buttering some toast that had just popped up from the toaster. " I need some time to think about this Clark. Its not every day that you discover that your best friend had lied to you since the first day you met. I'll make you a deal. You promise to make up with your folks and that you will tell me the truth from here on out and I'll give you a second chance."
"Only if you will admit to your coffee problem." Smiling with the signature Kent smile, Clark threw the dishrag back at Chloe.
"Cute, Kent, cute. Remember, no more lies, ok?"
"No matter what, from here on out you get the truth. Wil and I talked about that last night. The people I love deserve to know."
"This mean your going to tell Lana?"
"That is not a conversation I'm looking forward to."
"Just be honest. If she loves you even half as much as I think she does it will be fine."
Smiling at Clark, Chloe threw the dishrag back. "Though, you might want to leave out the anal probing stuff till you are out of the dog house."
Chloe squealed as she ducked the rag. Popping back up she shot her best friend a grin that would melt the icecaps.
"Welcome back Clark. Its good to have you home."
~*~*~*~*~
Lionel Luthor sat at his desk reading a report that had been handed to him nearly an hour ago. Project overlord was nearly ready to begin testing. Helen had brought more that her good looks to the table when she defected to his side. Though the attempt on his sons life had failed Helen had delivered a vial that was well worth the price he paid.
The DNA from the blood sample proved to be nothing short of amazing. It held the keys to all they had been working on in level three and would allow Luthor Corp. to corner the market in the bio weapons arena.
Helen was currently working on several strains of a retro virus that would allow the different traits of the DNA to be passed to any subject they choose. The healing factor that they had seen in the original 'donor' alone would be worth millions.
A coughing fit wracked the older man's body. Hands shaking, Lionel reached into his jacket and retrieved the inhaler that continued his medicine. The attacks were coming more frequently than the doctors predicted. Helen would have to succeed and soon.
Lex had managed to survive the plane crash, and though he did not have any proof of the collaboration between his father and wife, Lex would surely be suspicious. If Lex began digging again Lionel would have to remove his son in a more permanent way. He had hoped that silencing his son would not be necessary, but his investigations and snooping had led him to close to the truth about level three and inadvertently about Clark Kent.
The intercom on his disk bussed rousing Lionel from his musing.
"Sir, Dr. Bryce is here."
"Thank you Sharon. Show her in please"
The double doors to the office swung inward as Helen walked across the room toward the large marble desk.
"Good morning Dr. Bryce."
"Good morning Mr. Luthor"
"I take it you have pressing news to come all the way up here"
"Project Overlord is ready"
Smiling like a jackal, Lionel leaned back from the desk. Reclining back in the huge leather chair the smile he wore made his face seem almost demonic.
"I take it you were able to replicate the DNA from the Kent sample successfully?"
"Yes sir. I was able to remove the kryptonite from the sample without damaging the Dna. We have enough genetic material for 3 tries. After that we will need to get another sample."
"Good. Proceed immediately. How soon can you have the retro-virus ready for testing?"
"Assuming that nothing goes wrong and the don't exhaust the three samples? I should be ready in three months."
"Excellent."
"The only other thing we need to decide is who the subject will be. This virus will recode the DNA of any subject it infects. The effects could prove fatal, but if it works we will want someone we can control."
"That's where this comes in my dear Helen." Sliding open a desk drawer Lionel picked up a small box. Sliding it across the desk towards Helen, His smile widened.
"You see my dear, controlling the men of steel we are planning on creating will be simple. Every dog has a leash, and so will our subjects. The implant you hold in your hand will be carefully inserted into the vascular system of each subject. With a press of a button I will be able to release a very fatal dose of the refined meteor rock directly into their blood stream."
Pausing for a moment to look at the deadly object she held, Helen looked back to the older man sitting in front of her.
"What about another sample? I have enough genetic material for the time being, but I will need more soon."
"Young Mr. Kent will simply have to be convinced to provide us with another sample."
Looking at the desk the file that Lionel had been reading lay open in front of her. Inside were a multitude of surveillance photos of Clarks family and friends.
~*~*~*~*~
