-1Chapter 18 - News At 7

Lana had called Chloe as soon as Clark left. As much as she loved the Kent's she needed her best friend. Lana awaited in the kitchen watching for Chloe's red bug to come speeding up the drive way. She didn't wait long as she saw the gravel spit up and a cloud of dirt float across the yard.

Lana met Chloe at her car. "Lana? Are you okay?" She asked getting out of her car.

"He went to fight Lex." She said. Chloe wrapped her arms around Lana and tried to comfort her. "I'm so scared."

"I know. Let's go back to my apartment and watch some TV and veggie on some popcorn until we hear back from Clark." Chloe said.

Martha and Jonathan stood on the porch and watched the two young ladies in need of comfort because of their son. "Go ahead dear. We'll call you if Clark shows up." Martha said.

Lana looked over and smiled at them. They could be so understanding. She knew Clark wanted her to be safe, but nothing was protecting her sanity by staying with his parents and worrying over him.

"Then let's go." Chloe said getting back into her bug. Lana nodded and waved goodbye to the Kent's. She crawled into the bug and buckled up. Chloe smiled over at her best friend and turned around in the driveway.

Lana and Chloe were curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them. They were watching the soap operas on local TV. They always got a laugh out of the cheesy storylines and multiple deaths of one character.

The channel was disrupted by a local news channel. Lana and Chloe sat forward in their seats when they saw the smoky remains of the Luthor mansion in the background.

"Good evening from Channel 7 News, Live at Luthor Manor. Earlier this evening a tragedy occurred. As you can see behind me the Luthor Manor is in ruins due to an explosion in one of the main rooms on the bottom floor. So far the police do not know the cause of the explosion. However they were a number of deaths. A total count four so far. Police are still searching the grounds. Stay tuned for further updates." The blonde reported smiled back at the camera before it switched back to the soap they were watching.

Lana and Chloe turned to each other in shock. Four had died, was one Clark? Lana felt like her heart had split in two. She saw the remains and bodies had been found. The thought of Clark being one of them broke her down. Tears slid from her eyes and down her cheeks.

Chloe came to her side and wrapped her in a tight hug. Tears threatened to spill form her eyes as well. Clark had meant a lot to her as well. He'd always been there for her and she'd gotten him killed. Now he had fought Lex to keep them safe again.

Her phone rang and she glanced over to see the caller id. It was Oliver, maybe he was calling about Clark. Chloe reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?" She asked.

"Chloe, this is Oliver. I need you to go with Cyborg. He should be there to pick you up. We need your help." Oliver said over the line.

"Is it Clark?" She asked.

"No, we haven't heard from him." Oliver said.

A knock came at her door and she rushed over to let Cyborg in. "I need you to come with me in the chopper." Cyborg said.

Lana wiped her eyes and gathered the attention of the war dressed hero in the doorway. "Lana, is everything okay?" Cyborg asked.

"No." She said sobbing again.

"We just saw the news. The Manor was destroyed in an explosion. Four bodies have been found." Chloe said.

Cyborg looked down. Chloe could see red in his right eye. "No identification of the bodies yet. According to the computer records." Cyborg said. He didn't know if that would be comforting or not. By the way Lana sobbed harder, he assumed not.

"We need to go. If Lex is still alive we need to beat him to Luthorcorp." Cyborg said heading for the door.

"Lana, I have to help. For Clark." Chloe said.

"I understand. Luthor must be taken care of. Go." Lana said. Chloe nodded and followed Cyborg out of the room. Lana curled up into a ball on the sofa and watched the TV completely numb. Clark couldn't be dead. Not again, she couldn't handle it.

The news interrupted the soap opera again and the blonde was standing still in front of the Luthor Manor. "We've identified three of the four bodies. One was Lex Luthor himself. The other two were security guards. One was killed by a burn through the chest and the other by rubble through the chest. The fourth body has yet to be identified.

Lana relieved the only way they couldn't identify a body was if the person was already dead. Her heart shattered and she poured her heart out in tears. She had no way to get in tough with Chloe but Clarks parents needed to know if they didn't already.

She couldn't move, her body felt weak. She clutched a pillow to her chest and cried all that she had within her. Nothing had ever felt like this pain. Clark's first death dulled compared to this. She'd lost him again. Had happiness and "happy ever after" in her hands and lost it. Their was no end to the madness, no end to the pain, no end to the suffering. The tears continued to fall, soaking the pillow, and her cheeks.