Chapter Nine

"Don't you have Algebra this period?"

"Huh?" Lois Lane turned away from reading the National Whisperer to look at her cousin. "Did you say something?"

"You know, if you don't actually attend classes, you won't be able to graduate."

"I'd be ten minutes late if I start going over there now and I don't want to be rude. Besides, I have much better things to do than Algebra."

"Oh, like reading the National Whisperer?" Chloe chided. "Come on, Lois, you're smarter than that."

"You used to love reading the Whisperer." Lois groaned. "Come on, there's an article in here about eye witness accounts of a masked vigilante in Gotham. Petty crooks are disarmed and swear they fought, and I quote, 'a bat from hell'. Tell me you aren't the slightest bit interested."

"A story like that is in the Whisperer and not the Planet because there are no facts."

"Yet." Lois insisted.

"Lois, I love you, but my goal is to be a serious journalist. That means I need to focus on reality. Not forcing facts to create an interesting narrative. Speaking of," Chloe got up from the desk, "I think I have plenty of time between now and next period to get to town hall."

"Don't you think this is starting to fall into over-preparing?"

"Lois, I am going to be interviewing an actual Smallville hero. This article could get printed in the Inquisitor. Maybe even the Planet. I'll be submitting to both."

"All right, all right. Prep away."

Lois was left alone in the Torch office. She closed the tabloid and idly traced the cover; a hand drawn account of what eye witnesses testified they saw. The drawing was a humanoid bat with sharp claws and dripping fangs. Clearly this was a monster and not some handsome hero out to save the day.

She and Chloe had bonded as children over their love of the weird and strange. They were both fans of the show X Styles, and they stayed in touch sharing articles or stories they read of strange things. Lois, being an army brat, had a healthy store of strange stories she overheard from the soldiers. They had whispered of secret formulas being developed to make super soldiers. Experiments that stopped once the test-subject-gorilla caused too much damage. Whispers of naval officers in sinking subs finding themselves unexplainably on dry land.

Then came Uncle Gabe's heart attack. Luckily, it happened two months before the LuthorCorp plant in Smallville closed so he had insurance. Lois was shipped to Smallville to be reunited with her now more serious cousin and help watch over her.

Across from the desk where Lois was sitting was Chloe's uncontained scrapbook; her Wall of Heroes. People who dedicated their lives to curing diseases. Children who started organizations that gave foster children actual suitcases and raised money to give police dogs bullet proof vests. In comparison, Lois could see how reading about bats fighting crime was laughable.

But when you lived in a town called Smallville, where the weirdest things that happened was overgrown tomatoes and two headed calves, you had to believe the world was filled with wonderful, bizarre, strange, and unusual things. Otherwise, Lois knew she would scream.

"Chloe?" A strangers voice said from the doorway.

Lois looked up to see a tall, semi-attractive, somewhat familiar person. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Chloe. Chloe Sullivan. Please tell me she's here."

"And you are?"

The stranger ignored her question and picked up the latest edition instead. He breathed a sigh of relief. "She is here. Oh, no." He approached the Wall of Heroes with a confused look on his face. "What happened to the Wall of Weird?"

Lois sat up straighter. "What'd you say?"

"It's all different again."

"Got a name, Weirdo?"

The stranger seemed conflicted with that question. "Technically."

"How do you know Chloe?" Lois crossed her arms.

"We're friends. I hope." He looked over at Lois. "How do you know Chloe?"

"Cousin."

"Lois Lane?" Seeing her expression he continued, "You came over for a surprise weekend visit so she wasn't able to join the study group."

"Not even close. My visit here is not a surprise nor limited. How'd you hear about the Wall of Weird?"

"Well, it was here. Before."

"Before what? You're not that talkative are ya, Weirdo?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Well, then, what's your name?"

"I'm not sure."

"Hey, Lois, can I give you these?" Greg Arkin waltzed into the office with a folder of developed photos. Greg, along with Chloe, was one of the lucky few who had a free period this hour.

"Sure." As quickly as he came, Greg left. The stranger was staring ahead with his jaw wide open. "What?"

"That was Greg. Arkin."

"Yeah?"

"He wasn't a bug."

"Hey, Lois," Chloe said as she breezed in. "Can you do me a favor and cover the cheerleader replacement tryouts? I just thought of an entire new angle that requires different research than I originally anticipated."

Lois coughed. "You got a visitor." She jerked her thumb in the strangers direction. Chloe gasped when she turned around.

"Chloe? Please tell me you know me."

"Of course, I do."

The stranger smiled. "Oh, thank you. Thank you…"

"You're Julian Luthor. I heard you were awake, but I never thought I'd get a chance to see you."

"Not you, too." The supposed Julian groaned. "Okay. Listen, something weird is going on and I need help. Chloe, can you please help me?"

"Maybe. What's the emergency?"

"My name is Clark Kent. I grew up in Smallville. I am a Sophomore at Smallville High and I work with you and Pete at the Torch. A few days ago, I got kidnapped by Lucas, there was a fight, and when I woke up everyone is calling me Julian. There is no Talon. I can't find Lana. Dr. Hamilton is alive and my…my, my parents…please, just please, Chloe, help me figure out what's going on."

"You forgot to mention Greg Arkin is supposed to be a bug." Lois added.

Both of them sent glares in her direction. "Ok. That's a lot to unpack. I am intrigued; I don't know how I could help you, but I'd love to talk more. Why don't we meet at the Beanery Saturday morning?"

"It can't be sooner?"

"I have an interview scheduled this week with…well, you wouldn't know who he is with you being in a coma the past year. But it's important and I can't focus on anything else right now and I really need to get to town hall before it closes. Besides, it's not like you're in danger, right?"

"Nope. No danger."

"Cool. Then I'll see you Saturday. Nice to meet you."

Chloe left quickly, not seeing how crestfallen the visitor looked. He stood in the middle of the room staring after her. The silence was beginning to make Lois squirm. "So, Julian…"

"Not my name."

Lois was beginning to remember the details of the tragedy that befell the house of Luthor. The incident happened prior to Uncle Gabe's heart attack, so Smallville was just the name of the town where Chloe lived and could care less what happened in it. She had only heard of the story in passing; the young Luthor brother fell into a coma last year. He must have looked familiar because she had seen a photo from an old article.

Kind of cool though, having believed you lived an entire different existence. "It's kinda cool, though. It sounds like you believe and remember having an entirely different existence." Stupid mouth! That was not supposed to be said aloud!

"No, it's not."

"Look, Weirdo…"

"Don't call me that."

"You're not giving me many options, Smallville." Lois smiled to herself. That nickname seemed to fit.

The visitor looked around the room one more time, muttered goodbye and then left. Lois quickly grabbed a pen and began to write in her Algebra notebook everything she could remember about this conversation, smiling the entire time.

Finally, something strange was happening in Smallville.

Sorry to raise people's hopes, but neither Batman, Aquaman, or Grod, will be making appearances. I just wanted to make other DC references. However, the kids making organizations for vesting police dogs and donating suitcases to foster kids are from stories I remember reading from a Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul book. Which one, don't recall, but I think those collections are all true stories.