An: Updated again! Thanks to everybody who has reviewed especially Glitter-Cat91 for mentioning some stuff I didn't know about this site. Like I said I'm new here and so I'm still figuring out all the little stuff about how this place works. Hope you guys enjoy. Another update coming soon!
After returning home, Lois drove Chloe to the temporary military hospital that was slowly emptying out. Work had been doubled on the Smallville clinic and it was set to re-open within a few days. The Kent's went to bed but Clark couldn't sleep. He felt that something was very very wrong. He could feel it deep inside himself. Clark went to Chandler's field and climbed the new windmill that had been built there. From the top of it he could see the night lights of Metropolis. Thunderclouds were covering the city, illuminating it with flashes of lightning. He stared at Metropolis and couldn't help but feel that whatever he sensed was wrong had happened in the city. Clark sat up there for several hours before returning to the farm and going to bed. He would continue his search for Lana in the morning.
"Wake up farmboy!" Clark opened his eyes to see a very attractive brunette kneeling over him, poking him gently in the side. Clark opened his eyes wider and saw that the attractive brunette was Lois. He jerked back. "Whats wrong Clarkie? You're acting like you saw a ghost?" She smiled at him.
"Uh no..." Clark said, disturbed that he had just thought of Lois as very attractive. "Good morning Lois."
"Good morning Clark. It seems your penchant for saving the day has finally rubbed off on your friends. You'll never believe what happened last night while you were saving us from that psycho with the gun." She threw a copy of the Daily Planet down on his chest. Clark sat up and looked at the headline. LUTHOR SUICIDE SHOCKS WORLD. Clark stared in shock at the article.
Eccentric billionaire and founder of Luthorcorp Lionel Luthor was found by his son, Luthorcorp owner Lex Luthor last night. Lionel Luthor had kidnapped a girl, native to Smallville, and planned to hold her for ransom. Lex found his father holding the girl captive in a Luthorcorp office and when he approached his father to stop him his father became crazy. After threatening both Lex and the girl with a gun, Lex told police his father turned the gun on himself, bringing and end to his life.
Clark couldn't believe what he was reading. Lionel was gone. Clark didn't feel terrible about it. The man had posed a serious threat to himself and his friends more than once. Clark was a bit surprised that he had killed himself. It didn't seem like something a Luthor would do but then the Luthor's had always acted in surprising and unexpected ways.
"Can you believe that?" Lois asked. Clark just shook his head.
"At least we know that Lana is safe. I doubt it was some other missing girl from Smallville Lionel had kidnapped." Clark breathed a sigh of relief. Clark had spent much of his time on the windmill the night before reliving all the painful times when Lana pushed him away or got mad at him for something he didn't even do. At the same time he was still aching with concern for her. He came to the decision to forgive her for all those times, as he had done it to her as well but he also stood by his decision to remain friends with her.
"Hey are you still there?" Lois waved her hands in front of Clark's face, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Enough thinking about Ms. Lang buddy boy, we've got work to do." Lois told him that partly because it wasn't good for Clark to keep worrying about the girl and also because part of her was seriously annoyed by the fact that he did think about her at all. 'I'm not jealous... No thats not it... Just protective of my good friend the hot farmer. The smelly farmer. That's what I meant.' The two of them stood up and went outside to help Jonathan work on the house.
Lex sat in his library with Lana. He had filed his report with the police and then escorted Lana to Metropolis General to be examined. His father hadn't hurt her but she was badly shaken up. To escape the media frenzy that was already beginning to unfold Lex held a brief press conference and then he and Lana flew back to Smallville.
"Lana, you have to understand how sorry I am for how I acted the day of the meteor shower. I can offer you no real excuse for my actions. Only that I'm sorry." Lana looked at Lex with concern on her face but then she relaxed a bit.
"Lex. I was really hurt and shook up by you. But I wouldn't have made it through the last few years without being able to forgive people. I mean it's a wonder Clark and I are still friends. So you're forgiven. I'm so glad you showed up when you did."
"I am too. So you don't remember anything about me being there?"
"No. I remember your dad injecting me with something and then I you woke me up at the hospital. I don't know what he was going to do to me."
"Lana did he say anything about why he kidnapped you?"
"Only that he did it because he knew Clark would come and try to rescue me. What do you think he wanted with Clark?"
"I don't know. Its not the first time somebody had done something crazy when it comes to Clark."
"Lex. Thank you. I'm going to head home and get some sleep. I just want to forget these last few days. A lot has happened." She started to tear up.
"You do that Lana. Remember. I would never let anything happen to you or any of my friends without a fight. I guess I learned that from Clark." Lana grabbed her crutches and headed out of the room. Lex couldn't understand why she had winced every time they brought up Clark. He stood up and walked over to his desk. He picked up something and looked down into his hands. The green glow of the dagger illuminated them. 'What did you have on Clark dad? Why did you make a dagger out of meteor rock?' Lex walked over to the safe he hid in his bookshelf and put the dagger inside. He sat back down on his desk and saw the headline on the Daily Planet. A smile grew on his face. All his life people had tried to push him around like he was some spoiled brat that they could use and abuse. Even his father. 'This is the dawn of a new era.' Lex thought. 'If I have to sink to the lowest depths to protect the people I care about or to get what I want then I find it to be a necessary evil.' Lex looked at the paper again and began to laugh.
Chloe and Mrs. Kent sat at the counter of the Talon. "So you are ok from last night Mrs. Kent?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Jonathan and I were really shook up. The police said the man took a cyanide pill after Clark subdued him. I just don't understand who would send somebody like that after us."
"I know its weird. I would have said a Luthor would do something like that but Lionel is gone now and Lex is our friend. Thankfully Clark saved the day again."
"Yeah." Martha smiled, obviously proud of her son.
"I'm glad he stopped the bleeding from my cut last night so fast. The doctors just cleaned up it and sent me home. It looked worse than it was. I think I'd rather not be hit in the head with a gun again."
"That makes two of us cous." Lois entered the Talon. She looked at the other two women. "The boys are at the hardware store. Ran out of nails. I thought I'd stop by."
"Really? Do you think you could cover for me for a bit. I'm gonna go remind Jonathan to stop at the grocery store too." Martha said as she headed outside.
"So looking good cous." Lois said as she checked out Chloe's wound
"Yeah its not bad. The doctors glued it shut last night. Thanks to Clark Kent for saving me again."
"Yeah that farmboy can really be something." Lois smiled. "Speaking of which I wanted to talk to him last night after I got back but I couldn't find him anywhere."
"Well that sounds like Clark. He's an expert at disappearing."
"And appearing too. Last night the guy in the van took us at least a mile up the road before he ran it into the ditch. When he pulled me out Clark was standing there. I can't figure out how Clark traveled from the farm to where the van was that fast."
"Uh... He must just be really fast." Chloe awkwardly blurted out.
"Ok cous..." Lois said carefully. "I'll just chock it up to one more strange thing about our blue eyed farmboy." She said the last part with a smile. "I wonder where he went last night." Chloe noticed the smile and the concern about Clark from Lois. She didn't really like either.
"Well you know its been a hard few days for him. He probably just went somewhere to think. Am I detecting some concern for Clark from you Lois?" This caught Lois off guard.
"Who? me? nuh uh. I... Clark smells. Yeah thats it. Ok maybe just a little concern but don't tell anybody." Chloe enjoyed seeing her cousin flustered. It didn't happen that often.
"Ok Lois fine." She paused. "But do you know where the concern is coming from?" Lois looked at her for a bit.
"What are you trying to find out Chloe?" Chloe sighed. There was no hiding stuff from Lois. She knew her too well.
"Do you have feelings for Clark?" She blurted out. Lois was once again caught off guard.
"Do I have feelings for Clark? Yes. I mean no! I mean I have some deep caring feelings for Clark but I do not have feelings for him. Yeah thats it." Lois seemed confused by her own statement. Chloe looked a little hurt.
"Lois... Maybe you should figure all that out and I'll ask you again sometime."
"Yeah ok cous. Hey! Its been fun talking about the smelly farmboy but I have to go meet him and his dad now. I'm glad you're feeling better." Chloe smiled at her cousin and watched her leave. Whatever Lois said Chloe felt that there was definitely something there between her cousin and Clark and she didn't know how she would feel if they suddenly figured their feelings out for each other. Chloe sighed and took another swig of coffee.