A/N: The next couple of chapters are going to be short. I wanted to end each on semi-suspenseful notes…and long chapters wouldn't have worked for that.

On a historical note, while I was cleaning up this weekend, I found a "Buffy" fan fic I'd done years ago… I almost posted it, but it was so all about Season 2 before the info really came out and I just decided that I didn't have to re-write the season since my fic wasn't done half as good as Season 2…

Chapter 4

All Chloe could do was blink. "They want you to be mayor? At 18? Isn't that against the law?"

Clark nodded. "That and to take over for the sheriff… Chloe, they're throwing 'power' at me right and left. They're insisting I govern them."

Chloe's mind started running a mile a minute. Considering half the town looks at him suspiciously considering all the crimes he's peripherally involved in, this is totally unexpected. "You can't be serious!" Yeah, Chlo. Get the most obvious out of the way first…

"Don't I just wish I was joking." He grimaced. "And it seems to be spreading…"

"What exactly do you mean by that? Be specific, Clark."

"I got a preliminary visit from Grandville's town council… feeling out the possibility of giving me the same offer." He sighed deeply. "It just seems really out of character."

She thought about it for a moment. "Does it feel like blackmail? Are people acting really differently in all aspects or just in regards to you?"

He took some time to consider it rather than just flipping off a glib answer. "It's just about me… and…" He broke off, suddenly blushing.

Chloe had to stop for a moment. There didn't seem to be any reason for that type of reaction when talking about gov… It hurt her with the force of a ton of bricks falling on her foot, but then she started seeing the humor of it. Clark was one of the shyest guys she knew and he wouldn't know how to handle a forceful woman… although she'd been trying to open him up to the possibility for years. "Women are throwing themselves at you, aren't they?" Clark could only nod and she tried to choke back a giggle… but a bit of sound escaped.

"Don't you laugh, Miss Sullivan!" He sighed. "It's one thing if they just ask for a date… It's another when it feels like they're being forced to be your sex slave!"

"Forced?" she jumped on the subconscious word. "Does it really feel like it's involuntary?"

"Sometimes it just feels like all the people I know are… being replaced?" He finished the sentence timorously, obviously not pleased with his final word selection.

"You're thinking a 'Stepford Wives' type of scenario?" He shrugged slowly, neither confirming nor denying the comparison.

Chloe got down from her stool and started to pace. Clark's eyes unconsciously followed and admired her trim figure containing such boundless energy. He shook his head to take him from such a dangerous thought pattern. They'd tried to be more than friends once and one tornado and a huge misunderstanding had finished that for good. When she stopped, Clark could tell she had a suggested plan of attack.

"I think I should go back with you to Smallville. Maybe if I asked around…"

"Chlo, no! There's absolutely no way! I won't risk you." Clark straightened, his protective stance making him look rather forbidding.

"We don't have any other choice, Clark." Even being half a foot shorter than he, she managed to convey that he would be beating his head on a brick wall if he even thought about trying to stop her. "If they're ready to have you be their ruler, they're not going to tell you anything! And everyone expects me to ask these weird hard questions."

"But what about your classes? You just started school…" Even as the words tumbled out of his mouth, he knew they were the most inane questions.

"And what about you, Clark? These people are my family as well…" Chloe sighed as she saw Clark's stubborn look forming. "Okay, give me a day… I've already done a bunch of prep work and most of the planned assignments… I'll tell them I have a family emergency and turn in what I've completed. It should placate most of them."

"And those it doesn't?"

Chloe tossed her blonde hair. "Clark, even in two months, I think most of the faculty knows the lengths I'll go for a story… and it's not like we're going to be gone for months… Maybe a week… two at most…"

Clark sighed. He knew he was beaten and he really did need her help… Why else would he have shown up on her doorstep late at night? And she was the best investigator he'd ever known… "If they accept all that, we'll leave tomorrow afternoon…"

"You got it, big boy!" Chloe laughed, excited to have something new to discover. Even this small mystery had imbued her with a new sense of purpose.

A/N: Wow! I'm getting lots of different people reviewing! Now that's exciting! My last fic ("Clarky Horror Picture Show" for those that want to know) only had two people reviewing most of the time… I must be in heaven!

KentCharm: I hope I can keep that warm and fuzzy going for you. I am writing a little ahead (and posting as I get reviews, HINT HINT!) so the plan is to keep it fun and interesting. Can I maintain it? I think so… But only time will tell…

MarkMark: You're kidding! I actually made no grammatical errors in that one? Holy moly! It's a sign of Armageddon, I'm telling you! I was just channeling how forces seemed to want Clark to rule the Earth and its inhabitants and how it would have to spread slowly. Hopefully I can keep it to being a fic you like… but I have to apologize. The chapters are really short for awhile, but I have plans to make them longer… soon!