Chloe crossed and uncrossed her legs, her hands adjusting the hem of her skirt. She stared at the numerous collection of plaques clustered on the wall across from her, their bronze and golden surfaces glinting in the sunlight coming in from the adjacent window. Clippings of prestigious Planet articles, framed and displayed haphazardly caught her attention and she felt her already miserable mood sink even further. "I could have had my article up on that wall—could have. Story of my life I guess."

Suddenly there was a whoosh of air that sent papers on the desk in front of her scattering and she shifted in her seat to see Pauline Kahn enter through the door in a flourish. Clutching a stack of file folders which she promptly tossed into a heap in the corner, and sucking on a withered cigarette stub, she plopped down in a big, high-backed chair. "Mrs. Kahn I'm glad you decided to see me. I have something very important I need to speak with you about." She had requested to see Kahn to discuss the situation before it got even more out of hand, even though she had misgivings about exposing her cousin as a fraud no matter how angry she was.

"As of ten-thirty this morning The Daily Planet has put out a press release," Kahn began, ignoring her words and squashing the smoldering cigarette in an ash filled silver tray. Her face was pale and she had a frazzled look about her. "As well as scheduled a press conference for this evening to announce that we have offered the Inquisitor reporter—Lois Lane—a permanent position here with us and that she has accepted."

Chloe felt her arms drop limply to her sides and gripped the seat cushion tightly with her nails to keep herself upright. She felt as if her life, her dreams, were spiraling out of control and unwittingly being taken away from her in one foul swoop. "Oh, well that's—great?" She mumbled, mustering a smile on her shell shocked face. "She's really written the article of the moment hasn't she? Smart move, snapping her up like that." The words flew automatically from her mouth without emotion or thought, and now she questioned if she had the strength to tell Kahn she had just made a huge mistake, something no one ever dared to do. "But what has this have to do with me?"

The wrinkles around the corners of Kahn's eyes crinkled even deeper as her lips pursed into a knowing smirk. "Oh come off it Sullivan. We all know the real deal here, so pry your lips off my ass won't ya?"

"Um, excuse me?"

"The story about Luthor Corp was yours."

"Wait. How did you?"

"Don't underestimate me Sullivan, I have my sources. I know that story was yours."

A renewed feeling of hope surged in Chloe's chest. "So the press release then, it says how the story was mine? That's wonderful! I can go down right now and gather up all my files and..." She smiled as she realized that Lois had decided to preserve their relationship and do the right thing, something she hoped she would do all along, although she was still perplexed as to why Kahn would still offer her a position. "But I wouldn't want to tarnish my cousins name publicly though, so maybe we could peg this as some sort of mistake?"

"Woah, hold on a minute." Kahn said, holding her palms up to face her in a stop motion. "I've been running this paper now for twenty years, and we don't make mistakes like this. In all my twenty years we have never been scooped out of a story by a rag like The Inquisitor." Her nose scrunched in disgust as she said the words, as if she had taken a whiff of an unpleasant odor. "It's bad enough they scooped us in the first place, but to come out and say that we were scooped out of a story of this magnitude because an intern had her story stolen from her in the first place sounds even worse. It's just a scandal I don't want to deal with right now."

Chloe fell back into her chair. "I don't understand?" Once again all the air seemed to be sucked from the room. "So the truth won't come out then? And even thought it's my story, you are offering a job to Lois simply to save face?"

A strange, almost playful look glimmered in Kahn's eyes and she reached into her shirt pocket, pulling out a cigarette and placing it to her lips. "You don't mind if I?" Chloe shook her head and stared back at her in confusion as she lit the end and took a long, slow drag. "Sullivan this is where it gets good." She blew out a thick trail of smoke that made Chloe's eyes water. "You are Lois Lane. Or I should say, are now Lois Lane." She took another drag and gave her a knowing wink.

"What?"

" Lois Lane, I like it." Kahn continued, swiveling her chair around to scribble something in a leather organizer. "It pops, it snaps. It's poppy. Lois—Lane. Lane—Lois."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Chloe snapped, unable to contain her frustration. Kahn's amused smirk faded and her head snapped to attention. "I mean, what ever do you mean?"

"You—that is if you still value your job at The Daily Planet—will, from this point on, be known as Lois Lane. Call it a pen name, a pseudonym, whatever floats your boat. Anyone asks and that's your name, got it?"

"But what about all the people here who know I work here and know me as Chloe Sullivan?"

Kahn let out a loud snort and stood up abruptly. "Trust me, this is an extremely large organization Sullivan. And while you've done some excellent work in the obituaries and wedding departments, and did have small byline or two, trust me when I say no more than a handful of people here know you exist, let alone your name. Or even care." Kahn brushed past her as she headed for the door and Chloe felt her skin prickle. She didn't ask to use a pen name; she wanted to be a respected reporter known as Chloe Sullivan, and even though things were being made right in a way it still stung to have that opportunity taken away from her.

"What if I can't agree to this?"

"Sullivan I know your type. I am your type. We live and breathe journalism. That story was everything to you. It's not a perfect solution but it's the only one I'm offering." Kahn shot her a look as her hand lingered on the doorknob. "It's your decision, but I'll have my assistant come and get you when it's time for the press conference—tentatively set for five thirty--whatever you decide. Till then this conversation remains strictly between me and you."

Chloe knew the words she said were true and nodded solemnly; no matter what she knew she could never give up The Planet, nor would she let her pride keep her from achieving a dream that was so close. Kahn proceeded to leave when Chloe stood up and stopped her. "Mrs. Kahn, there's something I need to know. How did you find out that the story was mine in the first place? And how in the world did The Inquisitor agree to this? Not to mention Lois..."

This time a genuine smile of glee spread across her face and she peered over the rims of her bi-focals at Chloe. "Well as far as The Inquisitor goes, let's just say that some indiscretions of The Editor in Chief caught on film helped pave the way."

Chloe felt her eyebrows shoot upwards.

'And as for the rest, I suggest you speak with your cousin."