The crowd went wild as soon as the winning touchdown was made, by no other than Clark Kent himself. Lois couldn't help but smile when she saw the look of excitement on his face. But she also noticed something else about him; he wasn't the same Clark Kent she had come to know. Out there on the field he actually looked happy and didn't walk around with those sad puppy eyes like before. As much as Lois freaked out by the whole twilight zone thing, she couldn't deny that she did like this new Clark.
"Come on!" Chloe suddenly yelled and started pulling Lois down the bleachers, the Kent's following close behind. Out on the field it was complete chaos and Lois just followed Chloe, soon figuring out where they were heading. And amongst the crowd she saw him standing there in his football uniform, with a huge grin on his face.
Chloe suddenly let go of Lois' hand and pulled Clark into a hug.
"Clark, you were amazing!" she yelled over all the noise and Lois saw how proud Jonathan and Marta was of him. They were all smiling and Martha even had tears in her eyes as she embraced Clark. The whole loving family scene made Lois feel even more out of place, as if she didn't feel like a stranger already.
"Lois…you came. Didn't think you would after what happened" Clark said and Lois realized they were all staring at her now.
"Well, Chlo said I couldn't miss this for the world and I see now that she was right. Congratulations, Smallville!" Lois said and gave Clark a friendly punch on the arm.
"Smallville? Lois, are you okay? You seem…different" Clark said with a confused expression. Lois nearly laughed at that last part, but Chloe's glare quickly prevented her from doing so.
"Not as different as you apparently. When were you gonna tell me that you're back on the football team, huh?" Lois asked and Clark looked more confused.
"Lois, what are you talking about? I've been on the football team for years. Why do you think they call me team captain?" Clark asked with a laugh.
"I'm sorry, what? You as the team captain? Didn't see that one coming!" Lois said and Chloe quickly put a hand over her mouth.
"You have to excuse her; she's not exactly herself right now. I think she might have bumped her head" Chloe said with a nervous smile.
"Oh, well then you might wanna let the doctor take a look at you" Clark said with a concerned look. Lois quickly removed Chloe's hand from her mouth and sighed.
"Look, I don't get what kind of sick joke you're all in on, but I can tell you right now that there's nothing wrong with me!" she said.
"Then I suggest you take another look in the mirror…traitor!"
Lois immediately recognized that voice and judging from the look on Clark's face, this wasn't a good thing. She slowly turned around and found herself staring into Lana Lang's dark eyes.
"Excuse me?" she asked and Lana gave her an evil glare.
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you got enough attention last time" Lana said sarcastically and walked over to Clark's side with an evil smirk on her face.
"Lana, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you, but I seriously recommend that you drop the act" Lois said with a fake smile. Lana glared at her and took a step closer, but Clark quickly stepped in between the two.
"Are you threating me? Oh, you got some nerve coming down here and hitting on my boyfriend!" Lana snapped and this time Lois couldn't hold back a laugh.
"What? You actually think I'm hitting on Clark? Are we talking about the same Clark Kent here? Because if we do, you need to do a serious reality check right now!" she said and Chloe quickly pulled her aside.
"Are you nuts! I get that she's not exactly your favorite person at the moment but this is not helping things at all! Have you forgotten that I'm actually still friends with both of them, and the last thing I need right now is Lana Lang thinking I'm trying to 'steal' Clark from her!" Chloe snapped and Lois rolled her eyes.
"Oh God, stop being so dramatic! I'm just trying to defend myself against that evil clone! It is not my fault that she has gotten all paranoid!" Lois said and Chloe glanced over at Lana, and then turned her attention to Lois.
"Well, I see this was a huge mistake. And I also see that it calls for a trip to the doctor; whether you like it or not! Now, I'm going over there to smooth things over with them but I have a feeling it might already be too late. So thanks a lot for completely ruining everything!" she said and glared at Lois before turning around and walking over to the others. As Chloe started talking to Lana, Clark looked over at Lois with something that appeared to be compassion in his eyes. It only lasted for a moment but that feeling inside of Lois knew it was more than just that. When Clark looked away, turning his attention back to Lana and Chloe, Lois quickly backed away from them and into the crowd. As soon as she had gotten out of sight, she turned around and set off across the football field. Running away from all the people, towards the parking lot. She didn't know where to go or what to do, but she knew that she had to figure out what was really going on. This was not the Smallville she wanted to live in and that Lana Lang was definitely not somebody she wanted in her life.
When she had reached the car, she realized that Chloe still had the car keys. Which meant she had to go about it a little differently. She jumped into the car and bent down under the steering wheel, starting to fiddle around with some of the cables. Suddenly there was a slight spark and then the car engine started. Lois sat back up with a pleased smile.
"I still got it!" she mumbled as she backed out of the parking spot. Without even looking back at, she sped out of the parking lot with one destination in mind. It certainly hadn't been her first choice but it was most likely her last chance.
"I must say that this is quite a surprise; Lois Lane in my study isn't something you see every day" Lex said from behind his desk when Lois walked in through the doors. She took a seat across from Lex with a confident look on her face.
"So I take it this isn't a tradition of ours?" she asked sarcastically and Lex smiled, which gave Lois the chills. She had only met Lex once before and it hadn't been enough to decide what kind of guy he really was.
"Well since you are a friend of Clark Kent's, we don't really get together very often. Not that we never did but let's not talk about the past; it always tends to get me down" Lex said and Lois tilted her, staring at him with an intrigued look on her face.
"Last time I checked, you and Clark were still pretty tight. Whatever happened to the powerful duo?" she asked and Lex gave her a confused look.
"Then you better check again, because we've never been very friendly. Especially not since he and Lana became a couple" he said.
"Do I sense some resentment here? Maybe Mr. Luthor has feelings for a certain Ms. Lang?" Lois asked sarcastically and Lex gave her a warning look this time. She knew he wasn't to be messed with but that wasn't going to scare her off. Even though it meant becoming his worse enemy, Lois would do her best to get some straight answers for once. Little did she know that Lex was the last person to go to then.
"Why did you come here, Lois? I doubt that Clark approves of it" Lex said after a moment of silence and Lois sighed.
"I don't know what kind of twisted impression you've gotten of mine and Clark's friendship, but he is not the boss of me. Nobody is" she said and Lex slowly got out of his chair. Lois sustained eye contact as he walked round the desk and over to her.
"Clark doesn't know anything about this, does he? Well that must mean that you're here for an important reason" Lex said with an amused smile and crossed his arms. Lois broke off eye contact for a moment before standing up.
"You can say that. I wanted to ask you about the meteor rocks; from what I've heard you got quite a collection" she said with a mocking smile and Lex returned it.
"Never said I didn't. But my knowledge of it isn't as impressive as Clark's so why are you not asking him this?" he asked and Lois looked over at the safe.
"Because I seriously doubt Clark's got the amount of resources you have to buy yourself knowledge about it" she said with a devious look.
"All right, you got my attention. Now, do you mind telling me why you're so fascinated by the meteor rocks all of the sudden?" Lex asked.
"I've heard all these stories about what kind of freaky things happens to people who comes in contact with the meteor rocks. And from what I've seen, I'd say it's more than just stories. But there's this one story where apparently a person time traveled or something after touching one of those rocks. Now, I don't know about you, but to me that sounds pretty far out" Lois said and this made Lex even more curious. He still couldn't figure out why she had come to him of all people, considering past events.
"Do you mind telling me where you heard this so-called story?" he asked as he moved closer to Lois.
"What difference does it make?" she asked with a shrug.
"None I suppose. But it sure would be interesting meeting this person. From what I've heard, the meteor rocks has attributed to giving certain people special abilities but time traveling? That's a first, even for me" Lex said and suddenly stopped. He was standing uncomfortably close now, but Lois refused to be the first one who moved.
"Well if there's one thing I've learned here in Smallville, it's that anything is possible. Which means the meteor rocks probably can cause plenty more trouble than we realized" she said and stuffed her hands inside the pockets of her jacket.
"That wouldn't surprise me. But it still doesn't explain what you are doing here. Not that I'm complaining about the company" Lex said and as Lois looked into his eyes, she got chills down her spine. It was something about him that had changed for sure since last time and it didn't seem to be for the better.
"Well, we should definitely do this again some other time, but right now I gotta run. See ya!" she said and forced on a bright smile before heading towards the door. But she soon realized that the guards weren't going to move out of the way. She stopped abruptly inches away from them, slowly turning around and glaring over at Lex.
"How come you won't tell me the truth, Lois? Don't you trust me? I mean, just because Clark and Lana never has, doesn't mean you can't" he said with a shrug and walked over to his desk again.
"I think maybe those rocks has made you a little paranoid, Lex. And as far as I know, it's illegal to keep people against their will" Lois said and crossed her arms, waiting for the guards behind her to step aside. Lex sat back down in the black leather chair and leaned back; an evil smirk spreading across his face.
"I don't really keep track of those things. Now, why don't you make yourself comfortable? Because I can't let you leave unless you tell me the truth" Lex said.
"I already did. And now I'm leaving, whether your boys move out of my way or not" Lois said and Lex just smiled at her.
"You really should work on that poker face of yours, Lois. I've lived with lies practically all my life; did you seriously think I wouldn't see right through yours?" he said.
"Guess you had more practice than me then. Because you sure had everybody fooled; especially Clark" Lois said and Lex laughed.
"That meteor rock really must have done a number on you; sounds like you got amnesia. Clark and I were never friends. The only reason I know he exists is because of the caves" Lex said and Lois gave him a puzzled look.
"What? But you…"
She quickly grew quiet, realizing that everything really was the exact opposite to what she was used to in Smallville. This wasn't at all the same Lex Luthor who had helped her with Lucy several months before. The man before her now had no good in him.
"Look, I told you everything I know and if you don't believe me, then that's your problem. Now, order them to move" Lois said in a low, threating voice and pointed at the guards over her shoulder.
"No" Lex said with a smug look on his face. Lois sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Fine!" she said and quickly spun around, kicking one of the guards in the stomach. As he crumpled down on the floor, Lois quickly ripped open the door and ran out of the study. She could hear the other guard not too far behind and shouting at her, but she knew it would be suicide to stop now.
After bursting out through the front door, she took a leap over the stairs and started running faster as she saw the gate beginning to close. Lois glanced over her shoulder, noticing there were three guards after her now. All with their guns drawn and aiming them at her, yelling at her to stop immediately. Lois increased her pace and just in the nick of time, slipped through the gate. She continued running until she finally reached Chloe's car that was parked at the other side of the road.
"Lois!"
Lois stopped dead in her tracks, being only inches away from the car. She recognized that voice all too well and she knew she had no other choice than to face him.
"It's not what it looks like!" she said and quickly turned around.
"Oh really? So that wasn't you I just saw leaving Lex Luthor's mansion? After all the cruel things he has done to us, why would you ever go to him?" Clark asked and crossed his arms, glaring at Lois while waiting for an answer.
"Okay, look, we could stand and argue but in the end I would win. I always do. So, how about getting the hell out of here instead? I, for once, am not gonna stay here and fight those guys!" Lois said and pointed over at the mansion. Clark looked over and saw the guards, who were now waiting for the gate to open back up.
"What did you do?" he asked impatiently and instead of answering his question, Lois pulled him over to the car.
"Get in!" she yelled and jumped into the car. Clark on the other hand hesitated, glancing back at the guards. Lois sighed and rolled her eyes, reaching over and grabbing a hold of Clark's shirt.
"I said get in, Smallville!" Lois shouted and pulled Clark towards the car, which was a lot easier said than done. But at least it motivated him to get into the car on his own.
"Do you mind telling me what's going on? Because it seems to me that you must have pissed off Lex Luthor, and I seriously didn't think you were that stupid!" Clark said, slamming the car door shut. Lois started the car engine and shrugged.
"How was I suppose to know that the guy had become an ass?" she said and stepped on the gas pedal. They swooshed by the mansion gate just as the guards came running out into the street. Clark looked back over his shoulder and then glanced at Lois, who fully concentrated on the driving.
"What has gotten into you, Lois?" Clark asked with a concerned look. Lois gave him a quick glance before suddenly making a left turn, causing the tires to smell like burned rubber. But Lois hardly took any notice and just kept on driving. All while trying to think of a way to change everything back to normal.
To Be Continued!