A/N: Even though Chloe and Lois have switched names at this point, I'm still referring to (Ch)Lois as "Chloe" most of the time. I hope that's not too confusing! At this point, Chloe is just using Lois' name temporarily, so she still "thinks" of herself as Chloe.

In this chapter, the plot thickens as Chloe/Lois gets a new assignment from her editor….

Chapter Two

"Ms. Lane?"

The voice sounded very young and very hesitant. It took Chloe a second or two before she realized it was addressing her. Her eyes flicked up from her work and focused on the fresh-faced kid in jeans and pullover who toed the floor next to her desk, impatiently shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Uh-yes?" Either high-school summer interns were getting younger, Chloe thought, or else she was getting older. Taking in the pint-size, freckled figure, she decided he couldn't be more than 14.

As if to confirm her opinion, the boy broke into an ear-to-ear grin that subtracted a few more years from her estimate. "I wasn't sure at first. Someone else said your name was Sullivan."

Not for the next few weeks, Chloe answered silently, sternly reminding herself to pay better attention. It had been almost a month since "Pfc. Chloe Sullivan" had started training at Fort Bragg; she really ought to be used to the temporary switch by now.

A lock of newly-brunette hair escaped from behind her ear, and her hand flew up automatically to tuck it back. The darkened shade hadn't been part of the deal with her cousin, but one look in the mirror, at the sophisticated, serious reporter staring back at her, had been enough to convince her to keep it.

She smiled reassuringly. "No, you got it right. What can I do for you?"

"Ms. Kahn would like to see you upstairs in her office. Right now, she said."

It took all of Chloe's self-control to keep her jaw from dropping. "Pauline Kahn wants to see me? Did she…did she say why?"

"No, ma'am. I've gotta go back up to pick up some packages, so you can come with me if you want."

Chloe was still getting over the shock of being called "ma'am" when the intern ushered her into the corner office where the editor in chief of the Daily Planet sat quietly, an island of calm amidst the chaotic rough-and-tumble in the surrounding newsrooms, bent intently over a small pile of papers, blue pencil at the ready.

"Please sit down." Without looking up, Kahn gestured vaguely toward a chair near her desk. Chloe forced herself to settle gingerly on the edge of the seat, nervously watching the editor scribble a few more notes on the pages, before she removed her pince-nez and trained sharp, appraising eyes on her guest.

"How much do you know about the Smallville meteorites?" The question came without preamble, in Kahn's famous dark-whiskey voice.

Chloe couldn't believe her ears. Whatever she'd expected to hear from her no-nonsense editor in chief, it hadn't been this.

"I did a series of stories about them, while I was editor of the Torch, my high school paper," Chloe replied, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice. "I'm a little surprised by your question, though. Last time we talked, I thought you considered this tabloid stuff?"

Kahn twitched an eyebrow. "Do I detect a whiff of resentment?" At the answering silence, she smiled. "Good for you. The truth is, you're right. Normally I would consider this "tabloid stuff"—if it hadn't been for an interesting tip I received today."

From the pile on her desk, she drew out a set of neatly clipped papers. "The Smallville connection is why you're here, Ms. Sullivan." She paused. "Or Ms. Lane. Whatever name you prefer. It's your story I care about, not your byline."

"So tell me," Chloe said, leaning in, "what's up?"

Kahn extricated a page from the clipped set and flipped it across to Chloe.

"From the Smallville Ledger, two months ago, just after the Big Blackout," she noted curtly. "What do you think?"

Chloe took a minute to scan the short article. "Local Farmer Unearths 'Mystery Stone'. HmmThis farmer claims his tractor broke down in a field, and some nearby rock started glowing and re-charged it somehow." She glanced up. "Has anyone looked at the tractor?"

Kahn nodded her approval. "My first thought. We only have the farmer's word; the reporter never checked it out. Keep reading, though."

Chloe's gaze returned to the news article. "According to this, he found it the same day the Big Blackout hit, when the riots began. Do you think there could be a connection?"

Kahn frowned, twirling her blue pencil thoughtfully. "Probably not. But he claims that his house never lost power during the entire crisis. That's what I find so interesting. Just a few weeks ago, the whole country was panicking in total darkness, while this guy not only had light and hot water, he had Internet access too."

Chloe's brow wrinkled as she concentrated on the article, her nervousness forgotten. "I don't see any follow-up. It doesn't look as though the reporter bothered to dig any deeper into this."

"Very sloppy work," her editor agreed. "I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, if it hadn't been for some information I received this morning from a contact in Cadmus Labs."

Chloe looked up from the story. "LuthorCorp's research division? What do they have to do with this?"

"Lex Luthor bought the rock from this farmer and had it shipped to Cadmus—more or less in secret. My contact tells me that they're looking for a way to unlock the power in that stone and store it." Kahn's level gaze fixed on Chloe. "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"The Big Blackout," Chloe breathed. "If Lex—I mean LuthorCorp—could find a power source that immunizes the city from another crisis like that…."

"…he'd be hailed as a hero." Kahn finished the sentence darkly. "Call me a skeptic, but I'm inclined to think Luthor's got less altruistic plans up his sleeve. He's got political aspirations, doesn't he? Next year Mayor Welling is up for reelection."

Kahn folded her arms on the blotter and bent forward, her voice lowering. "There's a story here, Ms……Lane. Get it for me, and I promise you you'll have your first Page One byline. I've already set up an interview for you at Cadmus tomorrow with Luthor and his chief of R&D. She put down the pencil. "I told him to expect "Lois Lane," by the way."

"A Page One byline?" Chloe blinked back sudden, surprising tears, hardly daring to trust her voice. "I'll be there. Thank you, Ms. Kahn."

"You can thank me after you've finished this piece. Oh, and one more thing." The words halted Chloe in mid-rise, and she quickly settled back down into her chair.

Kahn reached for another page in the stack, casually flipping it in Chloe's direction. "Here's an enlargement of the photo that ran in the paper. Does it look like the meteorites you've seen before?"

The enlargement was fuzzy, but one glance was enough to make Chloe catch her breath. Carefully, she wiped her face of all expression.

"No," came the slow reply. "Meteorites are usually green, and they don't have a regular shape. This is clear, and small, and it looks like some sort of crystal needle."

In fact, she thought, it looked exactly like the crystals she'd seen in Jor-El's North Pole hideaway.