"Keep it together." Chloe chanted over and over as she squinted from the blinding glare of flashbulbs going off, hundreds of pairs of eye burning into her. "Remember, Kahn said to keep it brief. Get up there, thank The Planet, then get off. Don't answer any questions about the Luthor Corp expose." She reminded herself of the prep session minutes before and what she was instructed to do. Kahn gave Chloe an encouraging nod as she stepped in front of the microphones, all the applause dying down as she began to speak. "I'd like Mrs. Kahn." She began, her voice echoing out through the now silent crowd. "For giving me the opportunity to work at such a prestigious and influential paper like The Daily Planet. It's always been my dream to work here and I am thrilled to have that dream come true." The crowd clapped politely and Chloe looked back to see Kahn give her a sly wink. Suddenly a voice shouted out and Chloe whipped back to see a woman waving her hand in a bid to get her attention.

" Miss Lane, how did you react when Kahn called you with the job offer?"

"It was great; I was very excited for the opportunity." Chloe answered, maintaining her composure as butterflies swirled in her stomach, Kahn beaming at her in the back ground.

" Miss Lane" A man called out. "Is there any animosity between The Inquisitor and The Daily Planet now that you've jumped ship?"

"Not anymore than usual." Chloe blurted out; the reporters began to laugh and Chloe felt herself blush. "What I mean is that the split was amicable."

"Tell us how you discovered Level 33.1!" A man yelled urgently, jumping up above the crowd. Immediately more and more voices piped up around her, each one more demanding than the first, and Chloe looked back to Kahn for guidance as her instructions replayed in her head.

"Do you have any response for the Luthor camp who is calling this all wholly untrue?"

"Is it true that Luthor Corp is aware of—and has used—alien technology?"

A few scattered chuckles broke out after the last question and Chloe felt a pair of hands clamp down firmly on her shoulders, steering her away from the microphones. "Gentleman, ladies," Kahn announced. "I know that all of you have numerous questions regarding Miss Lane's story, and believe me when I say that all of those questions will be answered." Kahn paused for effect and the crowd whipped into a frenzy. "In upcoming editions of The Daily Planet!" She yelled, waving her hands in the air. A unanimous groan erupted and more flashbulbs fired off as Kahn dragged Chloe back through the door of the building. "I swear, sometimes I think I'm getting too old for this." She whispered into Chloe's ear as they strolled side by side through the lobby, passersby's gawking at them. The owner of The Daily Planet, Mr. Siegel, popped through the door behind them, calling out cheerfully.

"Ladies!"

Kahn leaned into Chloe, placing a hand on her shoulder in an uncharacteristic display of affection. "Why don't you go home, get some rest and be in my office tomorrow morning ready to discuss some follow up articles, alright?"

Chloe nodded as Kahn stepped forward, shaking Mr. Siegel's hand in a congratulatory manner. "Genius move Kahn, leaving them wanting more. Our readership is going to go through the roof!" He added with a wink and reached out to shake Chloe's hand, dipping his head chivalrously. " Miss Lane, we have some boring business to attend to. Would you be so kind as to excuse us please?" Chloe nodded and smiled as he gestured for a group of distinguished older men to join him and Kahn as they headed off towards the elevators.

"Lane, you did great." Kahn called out right before the elevator doors slid shut behind her and Chloe blew out a long sigh of relief, thankful she had managed to survive the day and looking forward to going home and loosing herself in a hot bath. She started for the stairs leading to the basement and as her hand hit the railing she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey!"

Chloe instantly spun around to see a wall of red and blue on the step above her. " Clark!" She chirped, throwing her arms up around his neck as he bent down to meet her. "Welcome back. How was Star City? How is Oliver?"

"It was good, not as eventful as Metropolis though."

"When did you get home?"

Clark pulled away, running his hands down the length of her arms to her shoulders, pushing her back and looking her squarely in the eyes. "About an hour ago, just in time to witness the show—Lois." He looked back at her warily as she let out a nervous laugh and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him along with her as she climbed downwards.

"Ok, I can explain."

"As much as I love to see you squirm, don't bother." Clark said as they reached the basement lobby, lingering outside the office doors.

."What do you mean?"

"Well when I stumbled upon the scene outside and little Jimmy, I mean Jimmy, started going on about how Lois wrote some big Luthor expose and was being hired by The Planet I was dumbfounded. I mean this is the girl who thinks stories about barn doors make for a good read." He whispered, rolling his eyes. "And then when I saw you up there instead, I had no idea what was going on. And, as if on cue, who should show up? The other Lois. She told me how she broke into your computer, stole your story and had it printed in the Inquisitor and then struck some deal to have you use her name to avoid a big scandal, and she then rambled on and on about Nellie Bly." He said, rolling his eyes again. "Unless she left something out, that's basically what I got. What I don't get is why you didn't call me and let me know all this craziness was going on?"

Chloe smiled uncomfortably, reaching for the door handle and pulling it open. "Well I wanted to but I was just so busy and overwhelmed that I," The smiled faded from her face and she cocked her head. "I'm sorry. I should have called you—not that you ever answer you cell phone anyways—It's just been such a long, surreal day. But at least we can talk now."

"Don't apologize." Clark insisted, following behind her as they walked into the basement offices which were almost empty for the evening, leaving only a few stragglers quietly working at their desks. "I guess I'm just angry that I wasn't here when this was all happening—unable to help you somehow. Be a shoulder to lean on or push Lois off a cliff." He joked as Chloe spun around, giving him a swift whap to the shoulder. " I can't imagine how I would react if something like this happened to me. I'm impressed at how well you seem to be handling it. Oh, and speaking of apologizing, how are you two? Have you two..."

"Made up? Well, she went into this long speech and asked if I'd ever be able to forgive her. I told her I didn't know yet." Clark smiled shamelessly and Chloe spun around to give him another whap. "Don't try and hide your disappointment." The two laughed and as they approached her desk Chloe turned around to see a young intern hovering over it, the drawers open and its contents gone. Chloe's face fell and she ran over to the boy. "Excuse me, where's all my," Her eyes saw the name Chloe Sullivan inscribed in the brass name plate clutched in his hand and stopped. "I mean, where's all Chloe's stuff?"

"Oh, I packed it up and sent it to Kahn's office per her request." The boy answered as he bent down to wipe the desk's surface with a lemon scented cleaner and toss a few stray paper clips in the trash. "I was told to get this area ready for a new hire." He stood back up and went to throw away the name plate when Chloe grabbed for it.

"I'll take that." She smiled, seizing it from his hand as he shot her a queer look. "She's a friend of mine. I know she'd like to have this."

"Suit yourself." He replied, tying the trash bag at his feet and slinging it over his shoulder. "Say, don't I know you?"

"No, no you don't" Chloe replied firmly, turning around and heading towards the door, Clark following suit. "Alright, let's go get my stuff back and find out where the heck I am supposed to work." She complained to Clark quietly.

"No, I swear I know you!" The intern insisted, trailing behind them "Do you know Bob in the mailroom?"

"No, I don't. Sorry, we've never met."

"You just look soo familiar."

Chloe felt her impatience grow and reached for the door to the main hallway, when she heard another, different voice chime in.

"I was just thinking the same thing."