A/N: Wow. I can't believe it's almost over… Totally ripe for a sequel, however…


Chapter 18

Let's be honest. My life has been fraught with deadlines and emergencies, but the pressure I felt with this one… Well, let's just say that I was not at my best. My fingers tripped on the keys even making a simple Google search. But I should have known that I could rely on Clark to take up the slack. His fingers seemed to blur over the keyboard while I was having a problem just calmly sipping my coffee. All I could feel were the minutes ticking down. I didn't know if it would be at dawn exactly and I don't think anyone else did either. And how were we supposed to deal with a nuclear bomb?

Questions raced around my head while I sat in a near catatonic state and Clark hardly seemed to notice. For once, he was in full research mode… and it made me feel… unnecessary. I realized that this may have been what he had felt in the past while I worked my magic. I felt useless… unnecessary… A black depression hit me suddenly and I had to fight not to gasp.

"Clark could take care of this without you, you know." Tears sprung to my eyes and I bowed my head so Clark wouldn't notice. "Why do you think you're going to make any difference?" I felt like my heart was going to seize up in my chest. Where was my chutzpah?

"Chloe?" Clark's voice sounded as if it was coming from a mile away. I didn't have the strength to even lift my head… or respond. I could feel him hovering over me and he gently lifted my chin. We stared at each other for a few minutes before he said anything. "Chloe, what's wrong?"

I was too ashamed to admit my fears to him. How could I admit to what a coward I was becoming? "Nothing," I murmured, looking anywhere but at him.

He wouldn't let me avoid the issue, however. His face took on a stern look that could have been copied straight out of the Jonathan Kent playbook. I would have laughed if I'd had that kind of strength in me. "Chloe Sullivan, you're not going to get out of this so easily. Tell me right now what's wrong with you."

I shrugged, but decided that avoiding the issue wasn't what Clark deserved. "Why am I here, Clark? You could handle this entire situation on your own? Why am I necessary?"

His hand dropped in shock and I knew that he was horribly disappointed in me. I wanted to melt into the floor in shame. "You see! How could you have ever imagined that you were equal to him?" The voice was terribly logical and unrelenting. I wanted to scream at myself, but that would have just led to too many questions about my sanity. I dropped my eyes to the floor again.

Clark crouched down in front of me and held my hand. I couldn't even look at him… The anxiety was crushing me completely. "Chloe, look at me." I didn't move. How could I look at him? "Look at me!" he commanded. I was so shocked by that I did just as he asked. He had a small smile on his face… which seemed so out of place that I frowned. What was he smiling about? Hadn't I just told him that I was a total quivering lump that he shouldn't even bother to be with? "Chloe, you are the most courageous woman I've ever met. Why would you ever think I could do this without you?"

"B…b…but you were doing all the research. I was just sitting there…"

He laughed. "Exactly. How do you think I learned it all? I've been watching you do the same thing and picked up some stuff. I figured you were just preparing for whatever's coming."

"But I'm not contributing to the effort…"

He frowned and his look stopped me short. "Chloe, why would you ever think such things? This isn't like you!"

He was right, of course, which I always hated to admit. Normally, I would continue on my merry way in the course that I'd decided was right. And if Clark was with me, I'd always felt a sense of infallibility and indestructibility. What was different about this situation? Was it because I was personally given this assignment? That didn't seem right. Was it because I was responsible for the fate of the entire world? Nope, that wasn't it either. If I hadn't been pondering the issue, I might have missed the importance of what came next.

"You think you're so important… but you're not. In fact, you're going to get everyone killed… especially Clark!"

I gasped and leaned back in my chair. It felt like I'd just been struck. Clark would have said something, but I waved him off. This wasn't right. This wasn't the first time today something had made me start seriouslydoubting myself. Right about then, it felt like a lightbulb went off in my head and I wanted to groan for my stupidity. But how could I explain it to Clark? I had to test my theory before I confessed what was going on. Who are you? I thought as loud as I could, throwing it out there for anyone that could hear it.

A sinister laugh echoed through my skull. "So, you finally understand, hmmm? Pity. I almost had you a couple of times. But I suppose this makes it all more of a challenge."

My inner light bulb flashed again. You're my counterpart, aren't you? You're trying to destroy the world…

"You're arguing semantics. Your definition of how the world should be differs from mine."

How is setting off a nuclear bomb going to make a better world in your view? I demanded, utterly boggled by the mind set. But I wasn't to be rewarded with a reply. I waited intensely for a few minutes before I gave up.

Clark was looking at me with worry and, surprisingly, a bit of fear in his eyes. I looked up at him and smiled, but I'm not sure that helped him. I shrugged. It couldn't be a long conversation, but he had to know that our competition had just made an appearance. "I'm alright, Clark. Seems the other side was trying a sneak attack."

He looked at me, baffled. "But why didn't they try anything with me?"

"Clark, remember that my powers don't seem to be able to touch you unless I use a tremendous amount of effort? We have to assume that the other side would have to expend the same and they're kinda' busy right now."

He nodded. I'm not sure if he truly understood, but apparently it was enough for him right then. "I found him."

It took me a minute to realize what the heck he was talking about. Then the light flashed again. "Where?" It took me half a heartbeat to be all business again. We had a job to do here, and worrying about an unknown enemy was not top priority.

"10482 - 15th Street." He looked proud of his achievement and I was impressed. Thank goodness he was there. Fighting my unseen adversary would have taken too much time. I glanced at the clock and realized that it was already after midnight.

"We'd better get going," I said, standing. Clark was right at my side and we looked at Thomas. "Thanks for your help." He just nodded silently and we raced out of the room.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute. Was this all it was going to take? Could it possibly be this easy? As soon as we made it out the front door, Clark swept me up in his arms and we were off again. I didn't even have time to enjoy it before we were in front of this extremely run down house. He set me on my feet and I looked at him nervously.

"Think anyone's home?" he quipped.

The house had an air of utter desertion about it and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the search was still on. I would have suggested picking the lock, but Clark smashed it down without a thought. I whacked his arm. "Clark!" I whispered harshly. "Did you think he might have been expecting someone to break into his house? Maybe there was an alarm set up or something? What about a booby trap?"

Clark looked a little chagrined, but he just shrugged carefully. "Ah, come on, Chloe. What could possibly hurt me?"

I opened my mouth and shut it a couple of times. For someone so careful of others in dangerous situations, he was so careless with himself. But I couldn't just let it go… Could I? "Clark," I gritted as calmly as I could, "what about kryptonite?"

Another of those careless shrugs met my worry. "How would he know about that?"

I could have screamed at him. All the times that he's revealed his powers to the bad guys and he wondered how some madman would know? Some madman that could find out and gather all the things to make a nuclear bomb? Finally, I just sighed. There were some things you could talk to Clark about calmly and rationally, but apparently this wasn't one of them. We walked into the house quietly and I kept myself on the alert for any signs of alarms or danger.

The house did not reflect the outside… and I was surprised. It didn't have any of the stereotypical signs of mental illness. In fact, the house was extremely neat. We walked down the main hall and discovered a well-stocked library to the right and a small but gourmet looking kitchen to the left. There was a laboratory that took up most of the back of the house, but I didn't see anything that screamed "I'm a nuclear scientist!" Rather than reassure me, this was making me incredibly uneasy.

"Clark…" I whispered and put my hand on his arm. He just looked at me and nodded and I was grateful that this time he seemed to understand my non-verbal clue. He grabbed my hand and we crept up the stairs. There were two bedrooms, very elegantly furnished. I shook my head. What was this guy doing in this neighborhood? If his neighbors knew he had this kind of stuff, he would have been killed so all of his stuff could be sold. The one thing we didn't find was Mr. Jeffries… or any sign that anyone knew or cared that we were in his house.

"Where do you think he is?" Clark asked in his normal voice.

I nearly jumped out of my skin and actually shrieked to my everlasting shame. "Clark! Would you stop doing that to me?"

"Sorry, Chlo," he chuckled.

I could only roll my eyes at this point. Clark was enjoying startling me and nothing I said was going to make him stop at this point. Maybe it was his way of dealing with the situation… while mine seemed to be an increase in tension and sensitivity. But we didn't have time for this. "We've got to find out where he went."

Clark looked slowly around the master bedroom and his eyes fell upon a smiling man with a beautiful wife and two laughing children. "I don't think…"

I'd noticed the same picture and nodded. "I know. It doesn't seem like he'd be the type of man to threaten all of the northern hemisphere with a nuclear bomb, but he's our one and only lead. And Thomas said those psychics or whatever…"

"Do you really believe in psychic powers?" Clark asked me incredulously.

I had to laugh. "You're actually asking that of the girl that can read minds?" He blushed and shrugged and I had to hold myself back from hugging him tightly for that glimpse of his inner innocence. We'd have time for that later. "It doesn't matter anyway. He's our one and only lead and we need to find him… at least so we can find out what he knows and why he's slumming it."

Clark nodded and we carefully looked through each and every drawer in the bedrooms before we moved downstairs. I could tell by his intense gaze that he was using his X-ray vision to scan for any hidden compartments. I hit the kitchen while Clark used his super-speed in the library. It was logical that any damning evidence would be in the laboratory, but we were trying to be methodical. I could feel the minutes ticking by and I wondered if we would actually have time to save the world. I finished looking at any and all papers in the kitchen and met Clark in the hallway.

The laboratory was the thing of geek and nerd wet dreams. It had every possible techno gadget and I even found myself drooling a little. I almost laughed at my covetous soul, but decided it might come out a little hysterically. I grabbed the desk while Clark zipped about the room. I was glad that he had enough control over his power that he didn't create a wind vortex that would have made it impossible to actually look at any papers.

I found it in the first book I opened. It was his appointment book, which was logical, but the evidence didn't look like it really belonged in there. It was a red piece of paper shaped in a square with an address on it. I recalled a mental map of Coast City and realized that it was a warehouse not far from where we were. "Clark, I found it," I said, perhaps more loudly than I should have because it echoed in the space. Before I could blink, Clark was hovering over my shoulder.

"That's great," he said enthusiastically and made to snag the paper out of my hand. "I'll just jet over there and we can be back before your dad misses you."

I looked at him in surprise… surprised enough to snatch the paper back out of his hands. "Excuse me?"

He looked at me as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but I knew better. "Well, it just makes sense. I'm the one that's indestructible, so I'll just go and take care of the bomb and be back to bring you home before your dad wakes up."

"Clark Kent… You… I…" I was so furious that I could barely speak.

He looked at me with those eyes and I wanted to melt but I couldn't let myself. "It really would be better if you just let me handle this…"

"Shut up," I said fiercely and glared at him as hard as I could. He actually flinched, which gave me a little happy. "Farmboy, do you have experience disarming nuclear bombs?" He opened his mouth, but with another glare, he just shook his head. "What exactly were you planning on doing with it?"

"Throwing it?" he said hesitantly like I was giving him a quiz.

"Where?" He shrugged and I sighed. "Exactly. Listen, Clark… I understand that you want to protect me… I want to do the same to you. But remember. This is my trial. There has to be a reason why I need to be there. And to let you go off without me…"

"But…"

I held up my hand. "Forget it. Now get me there… Now!"

I was almost ashamed at the way I was bossing him around, but his previous attitude had me in total General Lane mode. I wondered if I shocked him one time too many today, but he just grabbed me up and we were at the warehouse before I could take another breath. If possible, the warehouse was even more decrepit than the outside of the house had been. My spidey sense was totally tingling, but we couldn't wait any longer. A quick glance at my watch only showed that we had a total of 15 minutes before the dawn was due. We didn't even have a plan yet to deal with it! I shook my head to dispel the negativity and motioned for Clark to bust down the door. At this point, we didn't have time for me to practice my lock-picking skills.

The inside of the warehouse was a surprise, but not in the same way as the house had been. It was totally and complete empty except for two things: the bomb and a body. My eyes were avoiding looking at it directly, but it was drawing me in with a sick fascination. He was lying in a pool of blood that seemed to have spread in an abnormally large pool around the body. His face was drawn into pained lines and he had a look of surprise on his face. But other than the emotion shown, there were no other signs of trauma to his face… which I thought odd. The fatal wound was a large holein the side of his head. He was barely recognizable as the man in the picture. I gasped when I saw it and Clark drew me into his embrace to try and protect me from the sight. It was kind of him, but I'd already seen too much and I knew that sight was going to haunt me for the rest of my days.

"Why did he kill himself?" Clark asked incredulously. "When the bomb went off, he would have died immediately anyways. Why shoot himself?"

"I don't know," I gulped, drawing away from him slightly. "I had been hoping we could convince him to shut it down on his own."

"Me too," he sighed. "Maybe that's why he did it, so he wouldn't be dissuaded from his purpose."

I shrugged and edged around the body to the bomb. "I'm not buying that he killed himself, but we can't debate it now." I sighed deeply. It was already active and neither of us knew how to disarm it. And still the scene was screaming at me with its wrongness. What was really going on here?


A/N:
We're getting close to the end. What do you think? Any thoughts? Questions? I was having some problems with the "Big Bad." I've decided that I'll give you a hint in the Epilogue, but it's definitely material for sequels… We're getting close to the end. What do you think? Any thoughts? Questions? I was having some problems with the "Big Bad." I've decided that I'll give you a in the Epilogue, but it's definitely material for sequels…

BabyC2003: I understand what you're saying, but if you'll remember, she was the one who pulled the "let's just be friends" crap after the Prom. That was so passive aggressive and didn't fit my image of Chloe that I could have just screamed! She should at least have railed at him and then he could have given her the 4-1-1. But you do have a point.

CSLUVSCK, spaceboi's pixie & Cherri202: Good! Keep loving it! And me! ;D

iluvsmallville1: Nah. It doesn't sound unrealistic. It just makes me happy and motivated to keep writing good stuff.

MacGateFan: Did I seriously do that? I know I'm a girl and therefore stereotypically uninterested in sports, but I KNEW that! OY! ;D

markmark261: Yeah, that's probably true, but I was thinking about the radioactive material that could get into the air stream (what's that called specifically again?) and contaminating and hurting the entire Northern Hemisphere. You know, I hadn't thought about the texting option… That's really a good idea. It's a good thing I didn't have her delete it, hmmm? And Kal's outfit… (laughin' my toukas off on your addendum to the question) Well, I was thinking black shirt, pants, and shoes… and MAYBE more than sunglasses… I think I was thinking ski mask.