Part 3

Clark had gone back to the Daily Planet hoping Chloe would walk in the door like nothing had happened. He had already searched everywhere he could think of. Oliver had been back to her apartment and had even searched Isis. Both of them had put the word out to find Jimmy who had disappeared weeks before. They both hoped that Chloe had gone back to him.

Neither of them thought that was true though.

Even Lois had gotten into the search. Clark had told her as much as he could about Davis. Lois was under the assumption that the two had run off together and she was pissed. She didn't like being out of the loop.

Clark was more worried about Tess Mercer. Their new boss kept looking at him like he was the answer to her prayers. From the talks they had he was beginning to believe she was more dangerous then Lex Luthor had ever been. Lex had been a deranged psychopath. Tess was….Clark hated to admit it but Tess acted more like a religious fanatic and to her he was the Messiah. The second coming of Christ himself.

That made her dangerous.

That made her very dangerous.

Because a fanatic was capable of doing anything for a cause. And Tess Mercer had the resources of the Luthor Empire behind her. Clark was starting to believe she had a goal in mind- a goal that she would do anything to make come to pass.

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The Hunter paused briefly as it watched the prey sleep. Its instincts told it to kill now while the male was asleep. Drink the blood of the other hunter. Something told it that its blood would taste like fire. The Hunter wanted so much to drink its blood but it waited.

It had survived a long time in the Phantom Zone by being careful. Others had tried pouncing on their prey only to find that their prey had been lying in wait. Only playing helpless, only pretending to be asleep, or hurt.

The Hunter was too smart for that. It knew that the element of surprise was the only way to win against the prey that landed in the Phantom Zone.

It carefully stalked its way over to the male. Carefully, very carefully……

And as it was about to pounce it roared…..

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Tess Mercer continued to watch Clark from a distance. Lex Luthor might have been a crazy son of a bitch but he did take good notes. His files were extensive. They all seemed to point to Clark as being the Traveler.

However they were all circumstantial.

It took a leap of faith to believe it and somewhere along the line Lex had stopped believing. Tess had read through the files and saw exactly where Lex had begun to see Clark as less a hero and more a villain that needed to be stopped. It had begun when he had seduced Lana Lang away from Clark. It was clear to Tess that seducing Lana started as a way to gain Intel from someone close to him but somewhere along the way that had failed and he had come to actually care about the woman.

Tess didn't see the appeal.

Then again Tess didn't see the appeal of Lois Lane either.

It didn't matter though. She knew she was right about Clark Kent.

He was the Traveler.

He would kill Davis Bloome.

And Davis Bloome would kill him.

Only then could Clark Kent rise from the ashes to fulfill his destiny.

And only then would she fulfill hers.