As Clark turned the corner to approach The Daily Planet he found himself caught off guard by throngs of people crowded up and down the sidewalk weaving their way up to block off the main entrance and creating a gridlock. Suddenly Clark felt a smack to his shoulder as a man carrying an armful of video equipment brushed past him.
"Move it Larry!" He yelled to the man beside him as they sprinted down the street. "It starts in less then ten minutes."
Stopping in his tracks, he looked around to see professional looking women with perky smiles and men with shellacked pompadours positioning themselves in front of news cameras, pinning in ear pieces and flipping through notes in their hands as others scurried about behind them, running wires along the ground leading back to a sea of news vans adorned with local television logos and satellite dishes parked alongside the curb. Moving slowly through the chaos he saw an array of microphones of every shape and size encircling the entranceway to the building, creating an impromptu looking stage area of which all the cameras were pointed at, directly underneath the glimmering bronze letters of The Daily Planet sign. There was a palpable buzz as a stately looking woman flanked by an older gentleman emerged from the revolving doors followed by a woman clutching a clipboard and speaking into a mouthpiece. There was another figure behind them but Clark's vision was obscured as several people rushed in front of him, clamoring to get to a good position, and he felt a slap on his back.
"Hey C.K!" An eager, squeaky voice called out. Clark turned around to see Jimmy Olsen standing behind him, his camera gripped firmly in his hands. "I see you made it here for the press conference, and just in time too. It looks like they're just about to start."
"Press conference? For what? Did they find the cure for cancer or something?" Clark mused as he took in the zoo around him.
"You mean you don't know?" Jimmy asked incredulously, lifting his camera up to his eye and snapping a few takes of the area. "You don't have TV or radio or anything in Smallville? How about The Inquisitor?"
Clark rolled his eyes. "Of course we do, but I was out of town visiting a friend in Star City."
"They don't have TV or radio in Star City?"
"Jimmy."
"Sorry." Jimmy laughed, bringing the camera back down and fiddling with the lens. "This morning a huge story about Lex Luthor broke in The Inquisitor."
"It did? In The Inquisitor?"
"Yeah, a pretty damaging expose about Luthor Corp. It's all over the news; the whole country is talking about it—except for Star City I guess." He joked. "And Kahn called a press conference about it. To announce the hiring of the reporter who wrote it— Lois Lane."
"Wait—what?"
"Didn't Chloe tell you all about this anyways?" Jimmy asked, giving Clark a knowing wink.
Clark's face scrunched up in confusion as he shook his head. "Lois wrote an expose about Lex? Herself?"
Before Jimmy could reply a man stepped up to the horde of microphones and a hush fell over the crowd as they turned riveted towards him. "I'd like to start out first by welcoming all the press who turned out today." He paused and gestured grandly in front of him. "My name is Joe Siegel, the owner of The Daily Planet, and I would like to introduce you to our Editor in Chief of over twenty years, Mrs. Pauline Kahn."
The stately looking woman Clark saw before approached the man, shaking his hand and smiling for a few photo ops before she spoke. "I'd like to thank Mr. Siegel for the introduction and reiterate his sentiments. I'm glad you are all able to join us here today for a truly momentous occasion." She pushed up her glasses and flashed a gracious smile. "This morning an earth shattering Luthor Corp expose was published in a competing paper. Now I'll leave my feelings about said paper to myself, as most of you here know very well what I think of it." She shot the crowd a pointed look and a chorus of hearty laughs erupted around her. "But, regardless of my feelings, I haven't gotten to where I am today—the top—without making a few savvy business decisions along the way and today is no exception."
"Jimmy, this is all some sort of joke? Or some bizarro universe I wondered into?" Clark whispered, leaning down over Jimmy's shoulder.
"Today I am here to announce our newest addition to The Daily Planet team, our newest star reporter— Lois Lane." Flashbulbs went off like crazy all around them as the crowd surged forward; Clark craned his neck to see over the crowd and Jimmy hopped up on his tip toes, holding his camera high above the crowd and snapping furiously.
"This is so cool isn't it C.K?" He shouted above the noise, a goofy grin on his face.
Kahn stepped back from the microphone, clapping politely for a moment before she reached out to shake another hand, the owner of it blocked from Clark's view.
"I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe Lois..." Clark stammered.
"Someone say my name?" A sharp voice interrupted and Clark turned to see Lois a few steps behind them. "Hey Smallville, what are you doing here?"
"Wait—what the?" Clark said, turning back and forth between the crowd and Lois. "No, what are you doing here? Lois, aren't you supposed to be? If you're not—who is?" Clark spun back around just as he saw a familiar face approach the podium, smiling at the crowd as her blonde hair ruffled in the breeze. "What the hell is going on here?"