Luckily Chloe realised quickly what had happened, and even though the revelation was much more surprising than the original idea of a proposal, she knew she had to act to protect her cousin. As she turned around, she winked at Clark to go with her on this one. His look of horror would have been funny if it had not been for situation he managed to get himself into.
"Lana, I don't mean to be rude but can you give us a moment. Clark has been treating Lois like something he stepped on and I will not let it continue."
Lana smiled. "Look, Clark. I will be waiting in the loft when you are finished being scolded."
As soon as Lana was out of ear-shot, Chloe shot a look at him. "You and Lois! Since when?"
"Chloe, this is really complicated, and I want Lois here before I say anything more. To be honest, I don't know why it happened." He looked shell-shocked. "Lois will be down looking for me soon, and I need to go and talk to Lana. Could you wait for me?"
Chloe nodded, and took a seat at the table. Clark grabbed a shirt and shoes and headed over to the loft.
Lana was looking out of the loft window when Clark arrived. "Lana, I am sorry you had to walk in on that. I thought you would be mid-air by now. What happened?"
"I am still planning on going , but I have moved to a later flight. But you can stop me going. You were about to tell me your secret, weren't you?"
Clark was taken aback. "No, I was going to ask you if you wanted to drive up the lake for the afternoon, as I wanted to tell you the truth without any interference."
"Tell me now." Lana demanded impatiently.
"Lana, I think we should end it. When you came to tell me you were leaving for two weeks, I thought I would be upset. But to my surprise I was glad of the space. I think the writing has been on the wall since day one. I now realise the constant arguments and break ups were signs that we were not meant to be. All we have done since we together is to hurt one another, and I know that is not intentional but it happens constantly. "
Lana went bright red with rage. "You don't deserve me. If you really loved me, you would not have shut me out, and you would have shared your secret with me."
"Much like you have shared your secret about your affair with Lex. I am not stupid, and was hoping not to make a scene and end this quietly but you won't let me.
"How did you find out?" Lana asked in horror.
Clark smiled. "Actually I didn't but you have just confirmed my suspicions. Now if you don't mind leaving, I have to see someone who means more to me than you ever will."
Lana was now seething. "So Chloe has got her claws into you, has she?"
"Lana, please leave!" he said forcefully, as he watched her storm off down the lane talking on her cell, no doubt calling for Lex to send the limo for her.
Clark could not believe how free he felt after that showdown with Lana. In fact, he decided he was not in the mood to answer Chloe's questions, and did not understand why he had to answer to her. Lois and he had just shared the most intimate experiences, and he did not want this relationship to turn into the Lana drama so he knew what he needed to do.
He walked in the farmhouse determinedly. He saw Lois who had heard the voices downstairs, got dressed and starting to try and explain herself to Chloe.
"Lois, stop right there!" he said as he went in the door. "Chloe, you are one of my best friends but we do not owe you an explanation for this."
He turned to Lois. "Lo, do you want to get out of here?"
Lois was confused but nodded. She watched as Clark approached, kissed her softly, and scooped her up in his arms.
He whispered softly in her ear. "Close your eyes and hold on."
She did as he asked, her heart pounded with anticipation as she felt the ground disappear from under her feet. He then did the unthinkable, and once outside the farmhouse, he launched into the air, as though he had been doing it all of his life.
"Open your eyes!" he suggested to her.
She did, and then panicked. "What the hell!"
"Don't worry I got you." He smiled. "I never knew I could fly."
"What do you mean? You have never done this before. " Her increasing calmness was threatened by his latest bombshell.
"Lo, it's a long story. Let's stop somewhere so we can talk." He flew a few moments before landing near a tranquil lake.
"Where are we?" she asked, as he suggested that she join him, sitting on the grass.
"We are in Patagonia, but not exactly sure which lake. I just thought it would be warmer than Kansas. Do you have questions or should I just tell you?"
"I have millions of questions but I am listening." She smiled.
He went on to tell her all about his childhood and origins, to which she listened with amazement.
"But you are still the same, Clark, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I am still your new ….. " He replied hopefully.
"You were going to say boyfriend, weren't you?" Her expression changed to a serious one. " I thought we were just friends with benefits."
"We can't be. We're not friends, are we?" he challenged her.
"Well after the display an hour ago, I think we could give being friends a go. If you are willing to?" Lois grinned.
"I think I could be persuaded." He said, as he kissed her, making her topple back on the grass.
Back in Smallville, Star had just pulled up at the farm. She rushed to the door.
"Are Clark and Lois here?" Star asked a surprised Chloe, who still had no idea what was going on.
"They have left." She replied.
"Where did they go?"
"I don't know. They did not say."
"I need to find them. If not, Jonathan Kent is going to die." The panic in Star's voice was evident…
Chloe could see the distress on Star's face. "Come in. What did you say about Mr Kent? Why is his life in danger? Is it an assassination attempt?" She questioned her.
"No, I cannot be sure but I think Clark's father has something to do with it." Star explained.
"But Mr Kent is his father."
"No, I mean his Kryptonian father... Jor-el. If you sit down I will explain."
Chloe sat down and waited.
"Clark and Lois travelled back in time to 1989 which is where I first met them. They arrived back today but Jor-el wiped their memories. I have spent the last 16 years working for Dr Swann to ensure that the timeline followed the original timeline as closely as possible. The problem is that when Jonathan gave me his hand to help me out of the chair when I left the Talon, I saw him lying in Clark's arms on the driveway of the Kent Farm. He was dead."
"But why would Jor-el do it?"
"We don't know but it is our best guess So do you have no clue where Lois and Clark went?" Star asked again.
"No, he just came in the kitchen, kissed her and sped off with her. How long have those two been together?"
"On and off for 16 years. " Star managed a chuckle as she told Chloe the tale about their relationship which was interspersed with memory wipes.
"Can you take me to the Fortress?" She asked Chloe.
"If the key is in the barn we could go through the caves. I have been with Clark a few times, so we can give it a go."
"Great idea… then I have a plan on how we can get Lois and Clark to come as well."
Chloe rushed out to the barn, and rifled through the drawer. Luckily Clark had not moved the key. They drove quickly to the Kawatche caves, and Chloe placed the key in the slot. There was a sudden blinded light and they found themselves in the ice structure.
Chloe did not waste any time. "Jor-el…"
A bright light shone down on them. "Chloe Sullivan, what do you want?" He said in his usual grumpy sounding voice.
"Jor-el, I am Star. We have come here to convince you not to take the life of Jonathan Kent."
"It is not I who takes his life. His heart is weak!" he replied with no emotion.
"Yeah but I am guessing it is you who pushes him over the edge." Star argued.
"It will finish Clark if you let his father die. " Chloe exclaimed.
"But it won't. You see the death of Jonathan Kent pushes him to achieve his destiny." Jor-el continued.
"So you don't think he will reach it otherwise?" Star asked but she did not give him a chance to answer. "What are you going to do about his relationship with Lois Lane?"
"I have taken care of that with a mind-wipe." Jor-el replied.
"Well how do explain that they left an hour ago together…as a couple. No matter how many times you wipe their memories I guarantee that they will gravitate towards each other again, and again." Star challenged him.
There was silence. After a few moments, Star became impatient. "This is getting us nowhere." Then she pulled a device from her pocket. She typed in a few words and pressed the send button.
Meanwhile, Lois and Clark were taking the chance to enjoy the sun in the pasture where they were lying.
"Clark, this might sound really strange but do you feel you have deja-vu?" Lois asked, as she lay draped across his chest.
He looked down at her. "Yeah I do but I cannot work it out. I feel like some of my memories have been clouded over."
"Yeah, me too. The question is, what are we going to do about it." She asked.
"Well not much at the moment. We really need to get back to Smallville. My dad finds out the results in a few hours and I don't want to spoil his day. Do you mind if…."
Clark stopped mid-sentence, sat up and suddenly his face melted in distress. He put his hands across his ears to protect them from the deafening noise. "Can you hear that?" He shouted to Lois.
"Hear what?" she asked, now kneeling next to him.
He picked her up and sped them to the source of the signal – The Fortress.
He put a shocked Lois down as they entered the structure. "Where are we?" She asked.
"We are at my Fortress in the Arctic, the one I told you about."
Lois nodded. "So why are we here?"
"The signal came from here." He explained.
As they walked towards the centre, Lois noticed her cousin and another woman. "Chloe, what are you doing here?"
"We came through the cave." She explained.
"Thank goodness it worked." Star said. "Hi Clark, you won't remember me but I am Star."
"Star, can I ask what you and Chloe doing here?"
"We are here to prevent Jonathan from being killed. You had your memories wiped. Lois, can you come and hold my hand, and I will return your memory."
Lois paused for a second, and looked at Clark for guidance. He nodded for her to do as she asked. "I had a feeling something had happened with our minds." He explained.
Lois went and took hold of Star's hand, and closed her eyes. Minutes later, she opened them. "I can't believe all the mind-wiping that is going on. This is the second time for poor Clark." She smiled at a puzzled looking Clark.
"Star, can you return Clark's memories?" she asked.
"I can but it will be quicker and more effective if Jor-el does it. If you are listening, Jor-el.." she shouted…