10. Lois
Lois Lane was typing away on her computer. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't look at the silver picture frame on her desk and miss Chloe, and Uncle Gabe. Every time she looked at their picture, it was the one from last Christmas that she had taken when they came to visit her in Metropolis for the holidays, she had to choke back tears, or pretend she was going to sneeze to wipe the tears off her face before Kent noticed.
Kent was always around when she missed Chloe. It was like he had a sixth sense or something. But since he had been one of Chloe's high school friends, Lois had to cut him some slack. He had a right to want justice for the death of his confident. This was why she had taken him under her wing after all. He would become her only ally in the fight to keep Lionel Luthor in jail.
She had to fight to keep her cousin's memory alive. That was the reason she became a reporter. Chloe's dream had inadvertently rubbed off on both her and Kent. They both struggled to keep Chloe alive in their memories, and on print.
It was time. Chloe sighed. She had to go see Lois. She had chosen Lois first, because family comes first. If the tables had been turned, she had only hoped that Lois would have chosen her to be the first one she came to.
Chloe nervously ran her fingers through her hair. Her roots were showing a bit, not highly noticeable yet, but she had to stay brunette for the time being so as not to arouse any suspicions in her friends about who was living in the Luthor penthouse suite, other than one of his floozies of course.
It was time for the hard part now, she had to get up the courage to grab some take out coffee, and 'set up an interview' with Lois Lane. Reporter extraordinaire. Chloe smirked, 'Reporter my ass.' She thought cynically. Lois had wanted to be an actress, or an astronaut, not a reporter.
Chloe sighed. Took a big sip of her coffee. Black. No cream. No sugar. Life's not like that anymore. She took a deep breath and dialled the Daily Planet.
"Daily Planet, Kent speaking." Came an unexpected voice. What was Clark doing at the Daily Planet? When did he become good enough to work there?
"Lois Lane." She said, and then added, "Please." She had forgotten to say please. She has definitely been in the penthouse too long, being waited on hand and foot for way too...
"Lane speaking."
"Miss Lane, this is Linnea Lennox calling, I was wondering if I could set up a meeting between the two of us."
"What is the event of which you are calling about?" An event.. Think Chloe think!
"My engagement." Nicely done, now to who you idiot? Of course.
"And what makes you think that this is Daily Planet material Miss Lennox?"
"It's to Lex Luthor." She said.'See, fabricating a story wasn't that hard after all. If Clark was able to do it for the Torch, I can do it for an interview with my cousin.'
Lois sounded very excited when she replied, "Is noon alright? I mean, what time is good for you Miss Lennox?"
Chloe chuckled. Yep, definitely been in the penthouse too long. 'Must channel Lana. Must channel my inner Lana.' "Noon is fine, Miss Lane. But I'm new in town, and do not know where to meet you. If you give me a location, my fiancé's driver will be able to take me to meet you."
There was a pause on the other end. "Meet me at the coffee shop on the street that the LuthorCorp and Daily Planet buildings are located. Do you think you can find that?" The brunette on the other end asked carefully. 'God, she really must think I'm just another one of Lex's brides.' Chloe rolled her eyes, but played along. For this to work, she had to play along until Lois recognized her. Screamed at her. Possibly threw things at her, the usual Lois things.
"I'm sure the driver can find it." She said. 'I'm good. I'm real good.' She thought to herself.
"Alright Miss Lennox I'll see you then." Lois said in a very chipper voice.
"See you then." Lois hung up first. She usually did. She liked the control of ending the conversation. Lois always liked to control everything. When they were little, Lois used to tell Chloe what to do, where to go, and what she was going to eat, when. Lois liked being in control. It was just in her nature. What was to come thought, Lois had no control over. She was going to hate Chloe.
"Kent, you'll never guess what I just got." Lois said triumphantly.
"Pizza. Coffee. Chocolate." He began to list the things that made Lois Lane tick.
"Nope. I bagged an exclusive interview with the soon to be Mrs. Lex Luthor." Kent fell off the rolling chair. "What's wrong?"
"I should go along." He said quickly. 'What's his deal, this is my story.' She thought to herself.
"This is my story, why should you come and steal it?"
"Every woman Lex marries ends up trying to kill him and take his money, what's to say that this girl won't try to kill you?"
"If she does, I'm sure my hero in tights will save me." She looked out the window, 'Where was that hunk when I need him?'
"Alright then." He said defeated. "Go, be merry, have your interview."
"I will." She said grabbing her coat. 'And I'll get a raise too.' She thought with a sinister smile.
When Lois arrived Chloe stood to greet her. "Miss Lane."
"Miss Lennox - Oh my God!" Lois sat down across from her.
'God this is like an old meeting with Lex, minus the sexual tension, and good coffee.' She thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. The coffee in this shop tasted like crap in a cup. Not very good grade cappuccinos if she did say so herself. Lex's maid made better coffee than this.
"Oh your God, what?" Chloe asked carefully. The moment could be spoiled if she recognized her.
"That is a stunning ring Miss Lennox."
"Thank you, and you can call me Chloe." She said quickly. Lois paled at the name.
"No, I shouldn't. You don't understand Miss Lennox -"
"No, Lois, I understand completely." She said softly. She looked into the eyes of her cousin. Lois' brown eyes were searching hers for something. Then they found what they were looking for.
"No..." She said softly. Tears sprung to her beautiful brown eyes. Lois had always been the prettier of the two of them.
"Yes, Lois." Chloe said just as softly.
"There goes my raise." She said looking down to her plate. "But how? I mean, you were dead, I was at your funeral."
"But I wasn't." She said softly. "I was recovering from first to third degree burns in a hospital outside of Kansas." She looked down. "I'm still recovering."
"You look good for somebody who has been dead for three months Chloe."
"I still have scars." She held her palms up for Lois to see. Lois gasped. "But the worse scars are on the inside. Lex is helping me overcome them."
"So you are seeing Lex Luthor then?"
"But I'm not engaged to him." She said taking her hands back from Lois' scrutinizing gaze.
"Your face is untouched. Why?"
Tears jumped to Chloe's throat when she began to explain. "When the explosion-" Her voice choked. "When the explosion hit," she tried again, "I tried to protect my face with my hands." She said looking at her palms carefully. If she looked at them for long enough she could see the explosion. "I shattered glass with my back, and the doctors had to operate to get all of the shards out of my spine. Lois, they told me I shouldn't have survived."
"Maybe that would have been better." Lois said getting up. "Good bye Miss Lennox." Chloe sat there numbly watching her cousin walk away. She was right. It would have been better if she hadn't survived. But that wasn't the case. The only mistake that has occurred was telling Lois who she was. What was Lex thinking? Making her come and tell her friends that she was alive? She got into the waiting car, and the driver drove her home. It was all wrong.
Superman stood on the top of the cafe in shock. Chloe was alive. He wiped a silent tear from his cheek, as he watched the car drive away. But she was sleeping with the enemy. She was on Lex's side. He had to protect her from him.
Lois Lane was typing away on her computer. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't look at the silver picture frame on her desk and miss Chloe, and Uncle Gabe. Every time she looked at their picture, it was the one from last Christmas that she had taken when they came to visit her in Metropolis for the holidays, she had to choke back tears, or pretend she was going to sneeze to wipe the tears off her face before Kent noticed.
Kent was always around when she missed Chloe. It was like he had a sixth sense or something. But since he had been one of Chloe's high school friends, Lois had to cut him some slack. He had a right to want justice for the death of his confident. This was why she had taken him under her wing after all. He would become her only ally in the fight to keep Lionel Luthor in jail.
She had to fight to keep her cousin's memory alive. That was the reason she became a reporter. Chloe's dream had inadvertently rubbed off on both her and Kent. They both struggled to keep Chloe alive in their memories, and on print.
It was time. Chloe sighed. She had to go see Lois. She had chosen Lois first, because family comes first. If the tables had been turned, she had only hoped that Lois would have chosen her to be the first one she came to.
Chloe nervously ran her fingers through her hair. Her roots were showing a bit, not highly noticeable yet, but she had to stay brunette for the time being so as not to arouse any suspicions in her friends about who was living in the Luthor penthouse suite, other than one of his floozies of course.
It was time for the hard part now, she had to get up the courage to grab some take out coffee, and 'set up an interview' with Lois Lane. Reporter extraordinaire. Chloe smirked, 'Reporter my ass.' She thought cynically. Lois had wanted to be an actress, or an astronaut, not a reporter.
Chloe sighed. Took a big sip of her coffee. Black. No cream. No sugar. Life's not like that anymore. She took a deep breath and dialled the Daily Planet.
"Daily Planet, Kent speaking." Came an unexpected voice. What was Clark doing at the Daily Planet? When did he become good enough to work there?
"Lois Lane." She said, and then added, "Please." She had forgotten to say please. She has definitely been in the penthouse too long, being waited on hand and foot for way too...
"Lane speaking."
"Miss Lane, this is Linnea Lennox calling, I was wondering if I could set up a meeting between the two of us."
"What is the event of which you are calling about?" An event.. Think Chloe think!
"My engagement." Nicely done, now to who you idiot? Of course.
"And what makes you think that this is Daily Planet material Miss Lennox?"
"It's to Lex Luthor." She said.'See, fabricating a story wasn't that hard after all. If Clark was able to do it for the Torch, I can do it for an interview with my cousin.'
Lois sounded very excited when she replied, "Is noon alright? I mean, what time is good for you Miss Lennox?"
Chloe chuckled. Yep, definitely been in the penthouse too long. 'Must channel Lana. Must channel my inner Lana.' "Noon is fine, Miss Lane. But I'm new in town, and do not know where to meet you. If you give me a location, my fiancé's driver will be able to take me to meet you."
There was a pause on the other end. "Meet me at the coffee shop on the street that the LuthorCorp and Daily Planet buildings are located. Do you think you can find that?" The brunette on the other end asked carefully. 'God, she really must think I'm just another one of Lex's brides.' Chloe rolled her eyes, but played along. For this to work, she had to play along until Lois recognized her. Screamed at her. Possibly threw things at her, the usual Lois things.
"I'm sure the driver can find it." She said. 'I'm good. I'm real good.' She thought to herself.
"Alright Miss Lennox I'll see you then." Lois said in a very chipper voice.
"See you then." Lois hung up first. She usually did. She liked the control of ending the conversation. Lois always liked to control everything. When they were little, Lois used to tell Chloe what to do, where to go, and what she was going to eat, when. Lois liked being in control. It was just in her nature. What was to come thought, Lois had no control over. She was going to hate Chloe.
"Kent, you'll never guess what I just got." Lois said triumphantly.
"Pizza. Coffee. Chocolate." He began to list the things that made Lois Lane tick.
"Nope. I bagged an exclusive interview with the soon to be Mrs. Lex Luthor." Kent fell off the rolling chair. "What's wrong?"
"I should go along." He said quickly. 'What's his deal, this is my story.' She thought to herself.
"This is my story, why should you come and steal it?"
"Every woman Lex marries ends up trying to kill him and take his money, what's to say that this girl won't try to kill you?"
"If she does, I'm sure my hero in tights will save me." She looked out the window, 'Where was that hunk when I need him?'
"Alright then." He said defeated. "Go, be merry, have your interview."
"I will." She said grabbing her coat. 'And I'll get a raise too.' She thought with a sinister smile.
When Lois arrived Chloe stood to greet her. "Miss Lane."
"Miss Lennox - Oh my God!" Lois sat down across from her.
'God this is like an old meeting with Lex, minus the sexual tension, and good coffee.' She thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. The coffee in this shop tasted like crap in a cup. Not very good grade cappuccinos if she did say so herself. Lex's maid made better coffee than this.
"Oh your God, what?" Chloe asked carefully. The moment could be spoiled if she recognized her.
"That is a stunning ring Miss Lennox."
"Thank you, and you can call me Chloe." She said quickly. Lois paled at the name.
"No, I shouldn't. You don't understand Miss Lennox -"
"No, Lois, I understand completely." She said softly. She looked into the eyes of her cousin. Lois' brown eyes were searching hers for something. Then they found what they were looking for.
"No..." She said softly. Tears sprung to her beautiful brown eyes. Lois had always been the prettier of the two of them.
"Yes, Lois." Chloe said just as softly.
"There goes my raise." She said looking down to her plate. "But how? I mean, you were dead, I was at your funeral."
"But I wasn't." She said softly. "I was recovering from first to third degree burns in a hospital outside of Kansas." She looked down. "I'm still recovering."
"You look good for somebody who has been dead for three months Chloe."
"I still have scars." She held her palms up for Lois to see. Lois gasped. "But the worse scars are on the inside. Lex is helping me overcome them."
"So you are seeing Lex Luthor then?"
"But I'm not engaged to him." She said taking her hands back from Lois' scrutinizing gaze.
"Your face is untouched. Why?"
Tears jumped to Chloe's throat when she began to explain. "When the explosion-" Her voice choked. "When the explosion hit," she tried again, "I tried to protect my face with my hands." She said looking at her palms carefully. If she looked at them for long enough she could see the explosion. "I shattered glass with my back, and the doctors had to operate to get all of the shards out of my spine. Lois, they told me I shouldn't have survived."
"Maybe that would have been better." Lois said getting up. "Good bye Miss Lennox." Chloe sat there numbly watching her cousin walk away. She was right. It would have been better if she hadn't survived. But that wasn't the case. The only mistake that has occurred was telling Lois who she was. What was Lex thinking? Making her come and tell her friends that she was alive? She got into the waiting car, and the driver drove her home. It was all wrong.
Superman stood on the top of the cafe in shock. Chloe was alive. He wiped a silent tear from his cheek, as he watched the car drive away. But she was sleeping with the enemy. She was on Lex's side. He had to protect her from him.