The Black Coats
Written By: The Ascended Ancient
Epilogue

In the office of the Smallville High Torch, Clark Kent walks over to where Chloe Sullivan is hard at work on her computer.

"Hey," Clark says in a comforting tone of voice. He rests a hand on her shoulder. "How're you holding up?"

"With the guy who..." Chloe trails off for a moment. "With Josh still at large? Not so good."

"Chloe," Clark tells her. "I know this guy hurt you, but you need to move on."

"Yeah, and believe me, I'm trying," Chloe tells him. "But... I just can't forget him, Clark."

"Chloe, he manipulated you." Clark wraps his arms around Chloe and pulls her into a big hug. "And he really hurt you. It's going to take a while to move on, but you will, ok?" Chloe nods wordlessly.

Suddenly, Chloe's computer goes, "You've got mail." Chloe walks over to check it out.

"Oh, it's, uh, addressed to you, Clark," she tells him. Clark walks over and sits down in front of the computer. Chloe leans over his shoulder as he opens the e-mail.

"Chloe," Clark tells her. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry." Chloe walks away from the computer.

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Dear Clark,

I must say, against my better judgment, I felt the need to thank you for all you did. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now. Seriously, I felt it coming. If you hadn't disassembled the Cortex when you did, I wouldn't be able to write this letter right now.
Oh, and if you ever see him again, could you thank Jeremy too? If it wasn't for his friendship I'd have been shot the moment my power was expended. Thanks to him I had the chance to fake insanity and get a free ride out of Belle Reve and back into the world.

Oh, and please say hi to Chloe for me. Tell her that our night together was some of the most fun I've ever had in my life. She was just so easy to manipulate!

One last thing, Clark: delete this e-mail as soon as you're done reading it. I don't want the government using it to track me down. And believe me, I may not be able to outrun them if the get on my trail, but I'll know they're coming. And if I find out they're onto me, I'll make sure that the whole world knows your secret.

Well, that's about it, Clark. Enjoy your life.

Sincerely,

Joshua Hammond

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"So, who's it from, Clark?" Chloe asks. Clark stares at the screen for a moment, then clicks 'delete'.

"No one, Chloe," Clark tells her. "It's junk mail.

The End

Author's Note: Well, that's it. The story's over. Sorry for all of you who wanted it to go on longer, but this was how I planned to end it from the beginning. While I don't think the ending on paper was as good as the ending in my head, what did you, the readers, think of it? How was it compared to the rest of the story? Was it worth the time you spent reading each chapter?

You've all been great fans. I've appreciated the feedback, and I hope you'll all read some of my future works.

So, for now, this is The Ascended Ancient, signing off.

Additional Note: As some of you may already know, as I posted the last few chapters of this story, I began work on a new fanfic, Teta Prime. It's a Stargate Atlantis story, so if you're interested please, by all means, check it out.