Hanging up the phone from Chloe's call, Clark sat back on the couch in his loft, and sighed.
Ever since Lana had awoken from her coma and dropped off the map, Clark had more or less isolated himself on the farm. Despite Chloe, Jimmy, and Kara's brief attempts, and Lois's goading, Clark just hadn't felt like leaving. He had, instead, taken to doing what needed to be done around the farm... at a normal person's speed.
Chloe's call had caught him in the middle of mowing, and Clark had picked up the phone in the house by the second ring. Promising to come to the Daily Planet had been Clark's only escape from the phone call, and even then Chloe had persisted.
Pete Ross, Clark's best male friend, had been told Clark's secret after accidentally stumbling across the spaceship that had brought Clark to Earth as a young boy. That had caused a short-lived rift between the two friends, but had eventually strengthened an already strong bond.
Pete had moved before his senior year at Smallville High, and due to both men having busy lives, for different reasons, they hadn't remained in touch as much as either would have liked.
As Clark went through the motions of showering and changing his clothes, his mind began to race with all the possibilities behind Pete's cryptic phonecall.
Half an hour later, Clark super-sped into Chloe's cubicle and as he slowed himself to a relative crawl, he watched Chloe's still form jump to life.
"Clark! Thank God you're here." Chloe's face was pale and drawn. Clark peered past her at the monitor of her computer. On the screen was a mock-up of the newspaper's front page. The bold headline screamed "Queen Industries Private Jet Crashes" with "No survivors, say Search and Rescue" below in a slightly smaller font. Clark's eyes widened as he leaned closer to the screen and examined the accompanying picture. A blue section of water, interspersed with several different sizes of S&R ships.
"Chloe, when did this happen?" Clark's eyebrows furrowed with concern. Chloe didn't reply until Clark said her name again.
"Uhh... this just broke. It's all over CNN and all the other news networks. This," she gestured to the screen in front of her, "is tomorrow's front page."
"Chloe, you talk to Oliver all the time. Where was he going?" Clark asked, resolving to find his friend. Then Chloe dropped a bombshell.
"It wasn't just him, Clark. I talked to Oliver last night. They were all on that plane. Oliver's whole Justice group." Chloe looked deep into Clark's eyes so he would understand how serious she was. Clark's eyes widened.
"So... Oliver, and A.C., and..." Clark's voice gave out, his anger turning to sorrow. Chloe nodded, speaking softly.
"Bart was on the plane with him, Clark. They were heading to New Zealand, to check out a possible 33.1 lab. They..."Chloe choked back a few sobs until Clark stepped forward and embraced her tightly. The two of them held each other, sharing their grief over the news that some of their closest friends may have been lost to them. The sound of someone clearing their throat made them pull away.
"Lois." Clark's mind couldn't process Lois's presence as quickly as usual, so after saying her name, he hesitated. Naturally, Lois filled in the gap.
"Wow Clark. Took you two long enough." Lois had a natural ability to exude sarcasm and a pouting demeanor at the same time, which worked in her favor more often than not. This wasn't one of those times.
"Not now, Lois." Chloe replied, as Clark's face turned a shade of crimson. Chloe grabbed Lois's elbow and dragged her into the copy room. Clark, following, shut the door behind them.
"What, are you two going to tell me when the wedding is?" Lois's snide remark was enhanced by a slight sneer.
"Lois..." Chloe and Clark looked at each other for moral support. They knew how much Lois still cared for Oliver, even though they'd broken up.
"Oliver's missing." Clark told her, gently.
"No, he's just doing his Robin Hood impression somewhere." For a moment, several emotions vied for dominance on each of their faces. Chloe's was a mix of confusions and curiosity, while Clark's and Lois's faces both displayed concern; Lois for letting Oliver's secret out, and Clark for wondering how many other secrets Lois might be aware of. A moment passed in silence, and then Clark and Lois mirrored each other with "You already know??"