A/N: Our intrepid reporting duo is off to Smallville… What will they find? Will all of their illusions be ruined? Will they be able to discover what has infected the town? Unfortunately for my peace of mind, this is my shortest chapter ever… but I needed it to explain to my satisfaction how our favorite Clark could overcome his fear of flying.

Chapter 5

Chloe clung to Clark's arm as they soared across the sky. The last time they'd flown, Clark had cocooned her in some sort of special material from the Fortress to protect her from the elements and the speed forces he was going to be using. All she'd been able to see was the gray sheeting… but this… This was so exhilarating. The landscape rushed past, but Clark had slowed enough so she could enjoy the view. Something that had been niggling at her sub-conscious clicked in and she had to laugh.

"What?" Clark asked, his lips touching her ear so she could hear… which made her shiver in delight. Fantasies regarding those lips had haunted her dreams for years with thoughts of what they could do to her… "Are you cold?" Concern tinged his voice and she just shook her head. "So…?"

"What happened to your fear of flying?" she asked, using her normal voice because Clark could hear her from nearly anywhere… having proved that a number of times.

"I'm thinking it was my fear of mechanical machines rather than the actual flying." He pulled a joyous loop de loop that set Chloe squealing with glee.

"Clark!" she gasped as they leveled off. She let her breathing return to mostly normal… well, as normal as she could with his body so close behind her… She decided to try again before asking for more aerial stunts. "But Clark, it can't just be a fear of planes. You used to get nauseous just trying to look over Andersen Bluff!"

Clark slowed even further to consider the question. He answered it with one of his own. "Chloe, last year… well actually since freshman year… What was my greatest fear?"

Chloe watched acres of farmland pass beneath her. Her mind shied away from the fact that Clark was flying them to Smallville and violating all the laws of gravity. "That your secret would be found out."

"And…"

Chloe had to grin at the teacher voice coming from her best friend. "And… That everyone would treat you like a freak."

Clark nodded decisively. "Exactly. And what could be less normal than flying through the air under my own power?"

Chloe had to laugh. "So your fear of heights was psychosomatically linked with your fear of discovery? How delightfully human of you, Clark!"

They giggled until the Smallville sign came into view. Quickly hiding amongst the clouds, Clark laid on a bit more speed to get them to the Kent farmstead without being seen.

But all of his efforts were for naught. A pair of knowing eyes watched the two teens from a distance. Quietly, but with no abatement in its anger, a voice roared, "That is not acceptable, Kal-El!"

A/N: Just as a big FYI… I may be slowing down a little. The first five chapters came out so fast it was scary. (Of course, length may have had something to do with that.) I actually hand-wrote most of it and then had to type it in. But now they're getting longer and we're not doing history lessons… so bear with me!

I'm desperately trying to stay true to the "Smallville" history… but I think at this point, I'm going to consider this happening between when Clark "dies" and "Aqua"… without the trade-off of lives (which seems retarded to me) and the transfer of "Jor-El" into Lionel. (Can you tell that I can't remember the title to the death episode:D) If I continue to write while the season continues, I'll continually have to update the fic. So for those of you that are extremely touchy about continuity, that's the plan!

MarkMark261: Thank you, as always, for your sage proofreading and the note about my last author's note. I've fixed it so any future readers aren't potentially spoiled. I'm not guaranteeing what I said before will still hold true. After all, there are many villains in the mythos to choose from:D

I realized that the shortness comment was a compliment and took it as such. I was just a little disappointed in myself that they were so short. This one will be the shortest one so far, but it was a bit of fluff that I just had to put in… :D

And I'm not touching the Chloe not being affected comment. There are reasons, believe me!

KentCharm: Well, thank you, once again, for the support. My irritation with the shortness of the chapters is that I'm normally more verbose. But when you decide that you want to try and end each chapter with a "cliffhanger" type moment, they can get really short.

And I'll have to get over to your fic! I love supporting other writers!