CHAPTER 6

"Yes!"

The smile spread across Lois' face as the rope fell to the ground and she quickly stepped away from the pole, rubbing her sour wrists that already had bruises on them.

She looked around the place, trying to decide which way she should go. Brad would probably be back any second and there was no telling what could happen then. Lois started running towards the open barn door with a big lump inside her chest, hoping she would be long gone when Brad returned.

But suddenly the barn door slammed shut and Lois stopped dead in her tracks, her heart beating so fast she was afraid it would jump out of her chest any minute.

"What's the rush? Clark will be here any second," Brad said from somewhere inside the shadows. Lois started backing up from the door, making her way towards the stairs instead.

She didn't doubt that Clark would come for her, but she had the feeling that Brad wasn't going to give up without a fight. And considering his advantage, Lois wasn't so sure how it would all turn out.

She suddenly came to a stop when she backed into the stair railing, giving herself a fright. Without hesitation she quickly turned around and ran up the stairs, knowing very well that she wasn't alone.

"Too slow," Brad said he suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Well, you wouldn't be saying that if you didn't teleport. By definition that is cheating, you know," Lois said sarcastically, catching her breath.

"I wasn't aware that this was a competition. Either way, you're losing," Brad said.

"You should know that I rarely lose. And especially not to people like you," Lois said and suddenly the barn door flew open with a loud bang.

Brad quickly teleported away again and Lois turned around, staring down at Clark.

"What took you so long?" she asked with a relieved smile on her face.

Just then, Brad appeared behind Clark with a smirk.

"I see my suspicions about you were correct," he said and Clark quickly turned around, giving him a puzzled look.

"Look, Brad, I don't know what you are doing but I suggest you stop right now. Before anybody gets hurt or Dr. Palmer finds you," Clark said and Brad's smirk quickly disappeared.

"How do you know about him? Nobody is supposed to know!" he cried out.

"Brad, I'm on your side in all this. But I can't help you against Dr. Palmer unless you tell me the truth and stop this destructive behavior. You don't wanna hurt anybody, right?" Clark asked and Brad glanced up at Lois, and then looked over at Clark with a devious smile.

"Somebody like her?" Brad asked and looked up at Lois who still hadn't moved.

"Brad, I know you robbed those banks in Metropolis. The kidnapping is only making things worse. I'm willing to hear you out; but let her go first," Clark said, afraid to take his eyes off of Brad for even one second.

He was obviously not very reliable at this point but Clark had to give him a chance to prove himself despite everything.

"How chivalry of you, Clark, but I'm afraid it's not gonna work this time," Brad said and teleported away before Clark had the chance to react.

"Nice to see I'm not the only one immune to your charm," Lois called out from the loft, and Clark turned around just in time to see Brad appear right behind her.

He quickly put his arm around her neck, squeezing it tight. Lois did her best trying to wriggle out of his grip and trying to get in a good kick, but it didn't do any good. Brad was far stronger than she would have given him credit for.

"So, how about we do this my way? Clark, why don't you tell Lois about your little secret, huh?" Brad asked sarcastically and Clark stopped dead in his tracks.

"Here's an even better suggestion; why don't you just go to hell? Would make things a whole lot easier for everybody!" Lois said and tried looking over her shoulder at Brad.

At that he tightened the grip around her neck and started backing up, soon disappearing out of sight. Clark hurried up the stairs, finding the loft empty.

"Over here!" Brad suddenly said and Clark quickly turned around.

Brad was now standing by the stairs again and Lois seemed even more irritated than before. And no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't get away from Brad.

"I've had just about enough of this. Just tell me what you want, Brad!" Clark shouted and Brad looked at him with a smirk.

"I thought that was pretty obvious by now, Clark. No, tell Lois your secret and then maybe I'll leave you all alone," Brad said and Clark clenched his fists.

There was no way he was going to tell Lois about his powers and how he ended up on Earth in the first place, but he needed to tell Lois something that would make Brad let her go. After that, Clark could take care of Brad in his own special way.

"How can I be sure that you're telling the truth?" Clark asked and Brad started laughing, which once again gave Lois the chills.

"You can't. Which is why you better start talking real soon," he said with a dark look in his eyes.

Clark realized that Brad was indeed evil and seemed to enjoy hurting people; playing with their minds and showing off his powers.

"Let Lois go first. She's got nothing to do with this now," Clark said, desperately trying to buy himself some time.

It wouldn't do Lois any good to find out about his secret and he certainly wasn't going to tell her about it like this.

"I think she's got everything to do with this! I came back to Smallville for her but I knew that you would try and get in my way," Brad said and Lois couldn't refrain from rolling her eyes.

"Oh, get real! You really think farm boy over here is any threat to you? The only secret he has is a crush on the girl next door and even that isn't much of a secret," she said and Clark suppressed a grunt, praying that Lois' big mouth wouldn't get herself killed.

"Seems like you're the only one not aware of the irony in that," Brad said with a sinister smile and Lois felt the grip around her neck tighten again, making it harder for her to breathe normally.

She knew that it wouldn't take long now before she was gasping for air and Brad obviously didn't care what happened to her.

"Let her go or else I'm not saying anything!" Clark blurted out and started to get really worried. Brad nearly started laughing at him and moved closer to the stairs, stopping right at the edge of it.

"You're in no position of making demands, Clark. See, the great thing about teleportation is that just in the blink of an eye, you can escape a cruel fall down the stairs. Not unlike poor Lois here that doesn't have any powers to prevent her from falling. So I suggest you make up your mind in the next few seconds… or else," Brad whispered and Lois could feel him leaning backwards.

"Brad, this isn't the way to go. You still have the chance to do the right thing for once without anybody else getting hurt," Clark said and Brad started laughing again.

"Stop trying to convince me, Clark. Can't you tell that it's already too late?" he said and suddenly a loud bang echoed through the barn.

A few seconds later Clark could see blood dripping down Brad's shirt and he was slowly falling backwards down the stairs. And despite her best efforts, Lois was being dragged down along with him. Clark quickly rushed over and grabbed hold of her hand just as she was about to fall.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked after he pulled her back up again. Lois slowly nodded while leaning towards the railing, trying to catch her breath.

Clark noticed Lex down by the stairs, tucking away his gun and walking over to Brad's body. It wasn't exactly the ending Clark had hoped for but Brad had made it clear that he wasn't going to give up and at least Lois hadn't been harmed.

Although that didn't mean that Clark was ready to forgive and forget Lex's past actions. It just meant that he had been at the right place at the right time for once.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Chloe asked with a concerned look as she handed Lois the glass of water. Lois removed the ice bag from her throat and slowly took a sip of the cold water, nodding at her cousin.

"I've been through worse, believe me. So there's no need of worrying folks," she said with a pale smile, looking up at Martha and Jonathan.

Chloe and Clark exchanged looks, knowing that Lois was back to her old self already.

"Well, it came pretty close to being worse, Lois," Martha said and Lois looked over at Clark, giving him a grateful smile.

"Good thing Smallville here is fast on his feet," she said and Clark smiled back at her, feeling relieved over the fact that things had turned out okay in the end.

This didn't necessary mean that Lois was going to be any less painful to be living with, but at least now Clark wouldn't complain so much about it.

"Although, there's one thing I don't get in all of this," Lois suddenly blurted out, finishing off her glass of water. "What was this 'secret' of yours that Brad kept talking about, Smallville?"

The room went dead silence and all eyes were on Clark. Out of all of them, Lois was the only one looking more confused than worried.

"Who knows? The guy was nuts!" Chloe blurted out before Clark had a chance to open his mouth.

Everyone else nodded along vigorously, especially Clark. Lois glanced over at him, a hint of suspicion in her eyes, as she got up from the table and walked over to put the glass down in the kitchen sink.

"You got that right," she said with her back against the others. "I mean, as if farm boy here would actually have any kind of powers and leading a double life? Please!"

Lois turned back around, a sarcastic laugh escaping her. The others chimed in but there was something about Lois' behavior giving Clark the distinct feeling that the matter wasn't dropped despite her apparent attempt to make everyone think so.

"Well, if you all excuse me, I'm gonna head upstairs and freshen up a bit," she blurted out after a moment's silence and gave everyone a quick grin before running up the stairs.

Clark watched as she rounded the corner, listening to her opening and closing the bathroom door before turning his attention towards to the others.

"Somehow I get the feeling that Brad's crazy talk got to her," Chloe said. "Not that I don't love my cousin but you better watch out, Clark. Once Lois has her suspicions about something, she always gets to the bottom of it."

"Yeah, I know," Clark sighed. "This means I need to be even more careful now."

"Best of luck to you then," Chloe said. "I spent one summer living with the Lanes and I couldn't even hide the last chocolate chip cookie from Lois for longer than five minutes!

"What I'm hiding is slightly bigger than a cookie, Chloe," Clark said with a frown.

"Precisely my point, Clark, so 'careful' doesn't even begin to cover with when it comes to Lois."

Martha and Jonathan looked to Clark, the expressions of their faces telling him that they obviously agreed with Chloe on the matter.

"Okay, point taken," he sighed. "So… any chance she could come and stay with you instead?"

Chloe started laughing at Clark's desperate attempt to get rid of Lois, although she knew that he was already warming up to her despite their constant bickering.

"Sorry, but I'm happily enjoying my Lois-free dorm room," she said as she got up from the kitchen table. "Call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Chloe," Clark smiled. She gave him a quick hug and waved goodbye to Martha and Jonathan before she stepped out the kitchen door.

Clark sighed heavily and turned to his parents, frowning at them.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"Just that you should be more careful," Jonathan said. "Lois can be very persistent when she puts her mind to it."

"That's one way of putting it," Clark sighed.

Lois changed into her pajamas after the refreshing shower and was in the middle of untangling her hair with the hairbrush when there was a knock on the door.

She glared at herself in the mirror, a silent growl escaping her at the sight of her messy hair, before swinging the door open. On the other side of the threshold stood Clark, his hand up in mid air with a regrettable expression on his face.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked hesitantly, unable to keep his eyes off of Lois' hair.

"Depends on what you want, Smallville," she muttered and walked back over to the mirror, continuing to brush through the damp hair.

Clark felt the immediate urge to turn around and flee down the stairs, but he forced himself to step into the room. He gave it a quick onceover, finding clothes scattered across the entire floor. The top of the bed had piles of more clothes on it, along with various gossip magazines. His dresser, where Lois was now standing brushing her hair in front of the mirror, was cluttered with makeup products and more gossip magazines.

Clark just barely managed to suppress a grunt, moving aside some of the clothes on the bed and carefully sitting down. Lois finished brushing her hair and walked across the room to the bed stand, staring down at the cluttered floor with a puzzled expression.

"Looking for something?" Clark blurted out, unable to hold back a smirk. Lois looked up, the puzzled expression gone from her face and instead she was glaring at him.

"Who said you could sit down? I don't remember inviting you in, Smallville."

"Last time I checked this was still my room, although it sure doesn't look like it at the moment. Ever thought of doing some cleaning?"

"I have far more important things to do; like working. Besides, all my stuff makes the room looks way less geeky which is an improvement."

Lois got down on all four, searching underneath the bed for something, completely oblivious to Clark's glare. He told himself that there'd come a day when Lois would leave the farm and get her own place, meaning he hopefully wouldn't have to interact with her on a daily basis.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when Lois suddenly jumped on her feet with a satisfied grin, putting on her beloved bunny slippers. She admired them for a moment before looking and meeting Clark's stare, the satisfied grin wiped from her face in an instant.

"Okay, I give up!" she cried out, throwing her arms up in defeat. "What do you want, Smallville? I have other plans, you know."

"Like what? Going clubbing in your pajamas?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Clark couldn't mask the look of surprise on his face at her statement, although he didn't find it hard to picture Lois Lane in a club wearing pajamas for some reason. Out of all the girls he'd encountered in his life so far, Lois was definitely the most interesting one. At times, he forgot that she was actually related to Chloe.

"Earth to Clark Kent!" Lois called out and snapped her fingers at Clark, getting him back to reality again.

He had the strange habit of zoning out every now and then whenever he was around her, for better or worse.

"Right, sorry," he said. "Well, I really just wanted to make sure that you're alright after what happened today and that Brad's ramblings didn't get to you."

Lois hesitated for a moment with her reply, biting back a snarky comment at the last minute. Despite the fact that Clark got on her nerves constantly, she couldn't deny that he was proving to be a good friend who actually seemed to worry about her.

"Like I told you all downstairs; I'm fine," she said eventually, walking back to the dresser.

Clark watched as she started moving around some of her makeup products, apparently doing a half-hearted attempt at cleaning up. But Clark knew that something was weighing on her; something she didn't want to talk to him about.

"So you don't think I have any spectacular superpowers?" he said, followed by nervous laughter in his attempt to joke about the whole thing.

"I think I would've noticed if I was living under the same roof as some superhuman," Lois said with her back against Clark.

She was trying to sound sarcastic but there was something in her voice that almost made her sound disappointed instead. Clark tried reading her facial expression in the mirror but she intently looked down at the makeup, making it impossible. As the minutes went by in awkward silence, Clark realized that he was getting nowhere tonight and abruptly got off the bed.

"Nice to see your expectations of me are still non-existing," he said sarcastically as he moved towards the door opening.

Lois stopped what she was doing and met his stare, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Hey, if you want a worshiper, go to Lana. I learned a long time ago not to have any expectations of people, but then again you did save my life today. Guess that counts for something, huh?" she said as Clark crossed the threshold. They stared at each other for another moment before Clark headed down the stairs again and Lois closed the door.

She remained at the door with her hand on the knob for a minute, listening to Clark going down the stairs. Once it got quiet, Lois walked back over to the bed stand. She slowly sat down on the cluttered bed, hesitating for a moment before opening the bed stand drawer and getting out a folder. Inside the folder were a pile of papers, most of them Torch articles written by Chloe. They were all about the meter freaks and mysterious saves in Smallville during Chloe's years in high school. And they all had one person in common; Clark Kent.

"Something tells me my expectations of you are about to get way higher, Smallville," Lois whispered to herself.

~ THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND ~