Careless Wishes
"A magician, Lois? Really?" Chloe stared at the flyer Lois had handed her in disbelief. "I'm not ten."
"Well, you'll have to forgive me," Lois said, wryly. "The last time I planned a birthday party, Lucy was ten."
"Well, I'm sure I'll have fun anyway," Chloe remarked, missing the wince that passed across Lois's face at her words. "Especially considering I don't remember any of the birthday parties I had over the last four years."
"You hit your head pretty hard," Lois said, looking slightly guilty for some reason. "Give it time; I'm sure your memories will come back."
"I'm not so sure," Chloe said, sighing. "Some days it feels like the missing pieces of my memory aren't ever going to come back."
An awkward silence fell over the room at her words, and then Chloe laughed at herself.
"Listen to me being all mopey," she said, shaking her head in exasperation at her mood. "It's my birthday; I don't want to be Debbie Downer at my own party."
"We've got about half an hour before everyone starts arriving," Lois told her. "You wouldn't believe how many people RSVP'd."
"Thank you," Chloe said, earnestly. "You and Jimmy really worked hard to make this a fantastic birthday for me."
"You deserve it," Lois said. "Now, come on. I need some help getting these streamers up."
"Shouldn't someone other than the birthday girl be helping you?" Chloe asked, wryly, holding the ladder steady for Lois as she climbed the rungs.
Nearly an hour later, the party was in full swing, and Chloe wandered over to the buffet table, snagging a carrot off the vegetable tray and biting into it. She hated even admitting it to herself, but she wasn't having very much fun at her own birthday party. Not after Clark had to run off and then started calling Lois every five minutes.
"Lois sure looks happy," Jimmy commented, coming up behind Chloe and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Who's she talking to?"
"Who else?" Chloe asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "She's talking to Clark."
"She's probably chewing him out for having to run out in the middle of your birthday party," Jimmy said, supportively, and Chloe snorted in disbelief.
"Does it look like that's what she's doing?" Chloe snapped as, across the room, Lois burst into laughter, her whole face lighting up with joy. "I mean, she lives with Clark. How many times a day does she really need to talk to him?"
"Uh huh," Jimmy said, his voice strange. "You don't really sound like you want anyone's company right now, not even mine, so I'm going to go mingle and I'll be back when you're out of this funk, okay?"
He gave her a quick kiss and then disappeared, not that Chloe could blame him. She had an amazing husband, one who'd worked with Lois to throw her a fabulous birthday party, and here she was ignoring him so that she could sit in a corner and sulk about how her life hadn't turned out the way she wanted it to.
"Hey, birthday girl," a voice chimed up from behind her, and Chloe turned to see Oliver standing behind her, a big grin on his face and a gift-wrapped package in his hands.
"You look like you're a million miles away," Oliver said, and Chloe sighed, quietly.
"I was just thinking," she replied.
"About what?" Oliver prompted, when she trailed off.
"That used to be my life," Chloe told him, nodding at Lois. "I had this great job at the Daily Planet, Clark and I were really close, and my life was really going somewhere, you know? and then I gave it all up and I don't even remember why."
Oliver got the same sympathetic look on his face that both Lois and Clark got when she mentioned the gaps in her memory, that look that Chloe absolutely hated, and she plowed on quickly before he could say anything.
"Don't get me wrong, I like my life just fine," she said, hastily. "There's just some times when I wish I could live my old life for a day. Just to remember why I let go of it."
"Did I hear someone say wish?" a new voice spoke up, interrupting her, and Chloe had to stifle a grin at the sight of Zatanna as she walked up.
The woman looked nothing like Chloe had been expecting out of a magician. The way she was dressed, she looked like she'd just stepped out of a comic book.
"Well, how about it?" Zatanna asked, and Chloe quirked a curious eyebrow at her. "Make a wish and I'll grant it," Zatanna clarified.
"Oh, I wish I could," Chloe said, with a false cheer, "but I don't have any-"
A cupcake with a single candle popped up under her nose and Chloe scowled at the big grin on Lois's face.
"-candles," she finished, flatly.
"Make a wish," Zatanna urged, and Chloe was tempted to tell her to lighten up and not to take her job so seriously.
"Come on, Chlo," Lois said, encouragingly, slinging an arm around her cousin's shoulders. "Even with your perfect life, there's got to be something you want."
'My perfect life?' Chloe thought in disbelief. 'Look who's talking.'
She looked at Lois and Oliver, who were both looking at her expectantly, and then at Zatanna who had an almost predatory look on her face, and she sighed.
'Lois gets my dream job working with Clark at the Planet, her articles have national recognition, and Clark's wildly in love with her; if I want the perfect life, I ought to wish for hers.'
Rolling her eyes at her own dramatics, Chloe let out the breath she'd been holding and blew the candle out. Lois hugged Chloe after the candle had gone out, and then pulled away with a reluctant smile on her face.
"Sorry to have to pull a disappearing act on you," she said, apologetically, "but I have to go to work early in the morning, and I've got a three-hour drive ahead of me to get home."
"You're bailing on me?" Chloe asked, faking a pout, and Lois laughed.
"Sorry," she apologized, again.
"Drive safe," Chloe wished her, as Lois gave her another, parting hug and headed for the door.
"This is for you," Oliver said, dragging her attention away from the door where Lois had disappeared.
He handed her the beautifully-wrapped package that he'd been carrying around all night, and Chloe eagerly pulled the wrapping paper off the small box. She pulled off the lid to uncover a thin, silver chain, and when she pulled the necklace out, she grinned at the tiny charm shaped like a robot.
"You said once that the only reason you watched all those science fiction movies with Clark was for the technology," Oliver said, and Chloe laughed.
"It's adorable, Oliver, thank you," she told him, giving him a quick hug.
Just then, Oliver's phone shrilled, and he snapped it open with a quick, "Hello?" Then, a grin broke over his face and he said, "Hey, Babs."
Chloe heard a woman's voice snap, "I thought I told you not to call me that," and then Oliver walked away, deep in conversation.
The party lasted for a few more hours, finally breaking up around midnight, with people wishing Chloe a happy birthday as they left. Chloe and Jimmy finally found themselves alone in the little corner of the Ace of Clubs that they'd roped off for the party, facing a huge mess.
"You know," Jimmy remarked as they started stuffing garbage and bits of wrapping paper into a garbage bag, "if people really wanted you to have a happy birthday, they'd have stayed to help us clean this place up."
"I don't mind this part," Chloe told him. "It's kind of peaceful with just the two of us here."
"And everyone else in the bar," Jimmy reminded her.
"I was pretending that we had the place to ourselves," Chloe said.
"So, are you feeling better?" Jimmy asked, after a moment, and Chloe blushed at the reminder of her earlier behavior.
"Guess green's not really my color, huh?" she asked, ruefully.
"It wasn't one of your finest moments," Jimmy said, tactfully.
They finished stuffing the rest of the garbage into the bags and then Jimmy hefted them into his arms as Chloe gathered up her scattered presents. They went out to her car, stopping at the dumpster behind the bar along the way, and then they sat in the car for a few minutes, Jimmy drumming his hands restlessly on the steering wheel.
"Okay," he said, finally. "We could go home-"
"That's a three-hour drive," Chloe pointed out, wincing at how whiny even she found her own voice.
"Or, we could get a hotel room and spend the night in Metropolis," Jimmy finished.
"I like that idea," Chloe told him.
"Hotel room it is," Jimmy declared with such gusto that Chloe burst out laughing.
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Lois woke up to the shrill screeching of her alarm clock and she smacked the snooze button with a groan. Her hand brushed something on the nightstand as she was pulling it away from her alarm clock, and she opened a bleary eye to see a cup of coffee sitting on the small table, still steaming. A folded piece of paper was propped against it. Lois grabbed the paper and unfolded it, reading the note written in Clark's untidy scrawl.
'Hey, beautiful,' the note started, making Lois smile, 'your alarm's going to go off in fifteen minutes and I know you'll kill me if I wake you up. On the news, there was a report about an earthquake in China, so I'm going to fly over and do what I can to help. I'll see you later at work. I love you.'
"Love you, too," Lois said out loud to the empty room, wondering if Clark could hear her halfway across the world, and then she froze at the sound of her own voice.
"Hello?" she tried, cautiously, flinching when her voice came out higher than she was expecting.
Getting out of bed, she went down the hallway to the bathroom and flicked on the light. Steeling herself, all the while hoping that she'd just caught a bad cold and was being foolish, she stepped in front of the mirror. Chloe's face was staring back at her wearing Lois's shocked expression.
"Next time," Lois told her reflection, "I'm not hiring a magician from Smallville."
Lois debated calling for Clark for a moment before remembering the earthquake in China.
'I'm a big girl,' she thought. 'I can handle a little body swap without Smallville's help. After a shower.'
Nearly an hour later, she was ready to go and heading out of the house. She'd fed a very confused Shelby before she left, and the poor dog kept sniffing at her hands and then looking around, trying to find her or Clark. Lois had left him with a big bone to chew on to make up for making it seem like they'd both abandoned him.
"Dog's going to need therapy," Lois decided, as she locked the door behind her. "Hell, after living in Smallville for long enough, I'm going to need therapy.
As she jogged down the steps, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Chloe's number.
"Hey, you've reached Chloe. Leave a message after the beep."
"Chloe, it's Lois," she said, when her cousin's cell phone clicked over to voice mail. "When you get this, call me. Actually, meet me at ISIS. It's really important."
Heading out to her car, Lois got behind the wheel and then got another shock when she realized that, in Chloe's body, she couldn't reach the pedals comfortably.
"It's not bad enough that my clothes don't fit right, and my shoes are too big," she grumbled as she wrestled with the seat, trying to move it forward. "Now, I can't even drive my own car."
She finally got her seat moved forward enough that she could reach everything, and then groaned when she realized that she was having a hard time seeing over the dashboard as well as she used to.
"No wonder Chloe never drives my car," she snapped, twisting around to grab a pillow from the backseat and shove it underneath her, propping her up.
She started adjusting the mirrors, and finally got everything set to compensate for her new, shorter height. Turning the engine on, she started down the driveway. The three hour drive into Metropolis was nerve-wracking to say the least. She had to have every bit of her attention focused on driving, and she arrived at ISIS gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip she hadn't had since she taught Lucy and Chloe to drive, one summer.
Lois pulled into the parking lot behind the building but didn't see any sign of Chloe's car. Before she got out of the car, she tried Chloe's phone one more time, but kept getting directed to her voicemail.
"Call me," she said, insistently, repeating her earlier message.
Locking the doors behind her, Lois tried the back entrance to ISIS, in case Chloe had given her car to Jimmy for the day, and was already there, but she found it locked.
"Great," she grumbled. "Just great. Come on, Lois, think. Where else would Chloe be at this time of the morning?"
Unfortunately, she couldn't come up with an answer other than 'at work'.
"Cuz, you need a hobby," she said, out loud.
"I'd be worried less about your cousin and more about yourself, if I was you," a voice said, nastily, from behind her.
Lois whirled around in time to see a flash of bright light go off in front of her face and then everything went dark.
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The morning after her birthday party, Chloe woke up to an empty bed and cold sheets beside her. The space next to her didn't even look like it had been slept in.
"Jimmy?" she called out, wondering if her husband was already in the shower. "Jimmy, honey, are you up?"
There was no answer, and her curiosity quickly got the best of her, dragging her out of her warm bed and over to the closed bathroom door. She opened the door, half expecting to hear the shower running, but was greeted with silence.
"Jimmy?" she called, stepping inside, and then she froze when she realized that Lois was staring back at her from the mirror.
"What in the world?" she breathed, reaching a tentative hand toward the mirror and then jumping in shock when her reflection did the same thing.
"Oh, this is so not good," she declared. "I'm Lois."
Tearing out of the bathroom, she grabbed her cell phone off the night table beside the bed and flipped through her phone book until she landed on Lois's number. She hit connect, but heard nothing but a beeping sound, and to her dismay, the low-battery light started flashing on the screen.
"And this morning just keeps getting worse and worse," she said. "All right. Lois said she had to go to work. I'll track her down there."
She got dressed in the outfit she'd worn to the party the previous night, grateful that she'd worn practical clothes. Gathering her purse from the foot of the bed, she went down to the lobby, dropping the room key off at the front desk, and headed out to her car. After a lot of wrestling with her seat, Chloe finally started down the street, arriving at the Daily Planet fifteen minutes later.
For a few minutes, she just sat in her car and stared up at the tall building. She hadn't set foot inside the place since the day Lex had fired her, and she wasn't sure if she could walk inside, now.
'I don't even remember why he fired me,' she thought, morosely. 'That's probably the worst part of all.'
Finally, gathering up her courage, Chloe got out of her car and headed for the front door of the Daily Planet. She went inside and headed for the elevator, almost pushing the button for the basement before she remembered that Lois had recently been promoted out of the basement to a low position on the bullpen totem pole.
'Three years in the basement and I never even saw this part of the Planet, let alone got a promotion,' Chloe thought, her internal voice snide as she punched the button for the top floor.
And thanks to her new promotion, Lois no longer had to suffer the indignities of fetching coffee, making copies, and the thousands of other thankless tasks the "real" reporters dreamed up for the interns to take care of. She got to focus on writing articles, something Chloe remembered never having time for, even if she didn't quite remember why.
And then there was Superman. While Chloe, along with the rest of the city, waited anxiously to see an actual picture of Superman's face on the front page of the Daily Planet instead of the usual shot of the back of his head, Lois had actually met and talked to the elusive superhero. She'd even gotten an exclusive interview with him, with a title that almost made Chloe's eyes pop out of her head.
'I Spent a Night With Superman', indeed.
Chloe had grilled Lois the day the article had come out, and even though Lois insisted that absolutely nothing had happened, Chloe didn't believe her. How could anyone be that close to Superman and just remain professional?
Arriving at the top floor, Chloe got off the elevator and went down the short steps to the bullpen. She weaved in and out of people on the way to Lois's desk, fielding greetings from them on her way. To her dismay, Lois wasn't sitting at her desk, which explained why people weren't staring at her in shock or confusion.
They thought she was Lois.
'Isn't this exactly what I wished for, though?' Chloe thought, staring at Lois's empty desk with mixed feelings. 'I wanted Lois's life, and now I have it. At least until she comes back and ruins everything.'
Chloe winced at the tone of her last thought, but before she could begin to even think about what it could mean, that she could think of Lois like that, she heard someone coming up from behind her.
She turned to see Jimmy coming toward her, camera in hand, and she momentarily froze, but Jimmy didn't seem to notice her hesitation.
"The editor says we're supposed to go cover the ribbon cutting for the new library," he said, jerking his head back toward the elevators.
"A ribbon cutting?" Chloe echoed in dismay. Lois always looked like she got the glamorous assignments, not the boring puff pieces.
"We can stop and grab coffee on the way," Jimmy told her, incorrectly interpreting her disappointed tone. "Besides, one of the new guys from the mail room made it this morning, and it tastes like tar."
He pulled a face as he headed for the elevators, and then turned around in confusion when he noticed that she wasn't following him.
"Lois?" he prompted, quizzically. "You coming?"
'This is what I wanted,' Chloe reminded herself, when she hesitated. 'It's time I actually started taking what I want, for a change.'
"Hold your horses, Olsen," she barked, trying to channel Lois. "The story isn't going to write itself without me."
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Lois regained consciousness to the sound of people arguing over her head. Resisting the urge to open her eyes and demand an explanation from her captors, Lois instead kept her eyes closed and her chin drooped against her chest. Keeping her breathing quiet and even, Lois pretended to still be unconscious and listened to the voices arguing behind her.
"I don't know what good this is supposed to do," an outraged man was saying, angrily.
"We have our orders, and we have to follow them," a woman's voice snapped back. "Or, do you want to be the one to tell Mercer that we couldn't get Chloe to hack into one stupid computer?"
'Mercer?' Lois thought, incredulously. 'Tess Mercer ordered Chloe to be kidnapped? What the hell?'
"You keep calling her Chloe," a new voice spoke up. "Are you sure you can be objective about this, Plastique?"
"Hey," the first woman growled, as Lois puzzled over where she'd heard that voice before. "Just because I'm grateful to Chloe doesn't mean I'm not ready to do whatever I have to."
"Then you won't mind if I wake Sullivan up, right?" the second woman asked, and then Lois jerked in her chair as a bolt of electricity jolted through her body.
She arced up in the chair against the restraints anchoring her to the seat, and would have collapsed to the floor if she hadn't been secured in place. Lois tried to scream in pain, but could barely manage to force a wheeze out of a throat that had closed up in shock. The pain subsided after a few seconds that felt like forever and Lois slumped against the back of the seat, her breath coming in sharp, harsh pants.
"Wakey, wakey," the second woman said in a sing-song voice, and even as Lois was glaring at her, she was taking in her surroundings at ISIS, trying to figure out a way to escape.
"Good morning, Ms. Sullivan," the woman continued. "We're the Injustice League, and we have a little job for you."
"You can take your job offer and shove it," Lois snarled, and the woman took a step forward, her hand raised, menacingly.
"Back off, Livewire," the first young woman snapped, stepping between them, and Lois finally recognized the runaway Chloe had taken in for a short time. "This isn't how this is going to work."
"Your bleeding heart is only going to make this take longer," the man said, in a bored tone. "I say we let Livewire electrocute her until she agrees to do what we want."
"Let me handle this," the young woman said, firmly, and then she turned back to Lois.
"Sorry about the rude awakening, Chloe," she apologized, a fake smile pasted on her face.
"What do you want, Bette?" Lois asked, digging the girl's name out of her memory.
"It's Plastique, now," she was informed. "And we just need your help with a little project. Do what we want and we'll let you go."
"What makes you think I'm going to help you?" Lois snapped, stalling for time.
"This," Plastique told her, slapping a glossy photo down on the table in front of her.
Lois leaned over as far as her bonds would allow to see a picture of Jimmy and herself getting into Jimmy's car.
"Your cousin and your husband leaving work this morning," Plastique told her, as if Lois wasn't smart enough to figure it out on her own, and then the younger girl's words sank in.
'She said this morning,' Lois thought, trying not to panic. 'This has got to be Chloe. There's no other explanation.'
"If you don't help us," Plastique continued, helping prove the stereotype of the villain who spelled their plan out step by step, "Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are going to meet a very unpleasant end. Understand me?"
"Yeah," Lois said, barely keeping her anger in check. "I understand you perfectly."
"Looks like I was wrong, Plastique," Livewire spoke up, admiringly. "You aren't going soft, after all."
"Why torture someone when threats and intimidation can get you everything you need?" Plastique asked, her voice pleasant. "Why'd you think I sent Neutron out so early this morning?"
"What do you want?" Lois demanded, repeating her earlier question.
"You're going to hack into a computer for us," Plastique told her, gesturing to a laptop sitting on the table in front of her. "This one."
"Whose computer did you steal?" Lois asked.
"That's none of your business," Parasite snapped.
"What's Tess Mercer want with someone's personal laptop?" Lois continued, and Livewire glared at her.
"Where'd you hear that name?" she demanded.
"You shouldn't have private conversations until you're sure the person you're holding hostage is really unconscious," Lois told them.
"Just get us what we want," Livewire snapped, spinning the chair Lois was in around to face the computers. "Well?" she demanded, a second later.
"You need to untie my hands," Lois explained, patiently.
While Plastique was busy freeing Lois's hands from the chair's armrests, Lois heard Parasite talking to Livewire.
"Neutron hasn't come back, yet. I'm going to go find him."
"Get to work," Plastique snapped, drawing Lois's attention back to her.
Lois turned her attention to the computers, tapping her fingers restlessly on the keys and wondering how she was going to stall long enough to get herself out of this mess.
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"Step on it," Chloe urged, leaning forward in her seat to try and keep the flashing lights of the police cars in sight.
"I'm already going over the speed limit," Jimmy told her, stepping on the gas, nonetheless.
Chloe settled back against the seat, relishing the rush she got from chasing after a potential story. That ribbon cutting had been so boring, and she couldn't imagine how she'd ever had the patience to write about things like that, before.
Jimmy pulled up across from the storefront that all the police cars were gathered around, throwing the car into park and jumping out of the car behind Chloe, who dashed across the street to stand at the edge of the police tape marking off the area. The police were standing underneath the balcony of a fire escape, trying to negotiate with a man yelling at the top of his lungs.
"What's he saying?" Jimmy wondered, as he started snapping pictures.
"He's talking about the keeper of the book," Chloe said, absently, as she listened to the man's ranting. "She who is called Zatanna."
"You can understand that guy?" Jimmy asked, looking over at her in shock.
"I, um, I took a Latin course in college," Chloe said, quickly, but Jimmy still looked skeptical.
"Zatanna," Chloe mused, trying to take Jimmy's mind off her sudden proficiency for dead languages, "where have I heard that name before?"
"That's the name of the magician you found for Chloe's party, remember?" Jimmy prompted, and then he looked over at her in dawning realization.
"You don't think it's the same one, do you?" he asked.
"I think we should check it out," Chloe told him, wondering if Zatanna was behind her little change, as well.
Then, their attention was drawn back to the building by a shout from one of the onlookers, and Chloe watched in horror as the screaming man jumped off the fire escape to the ground below. He never made it, though, as a familiar red and blue clad figure grabbed him in midair and set him gently on the ground.
"Next time," she heard Superman say to the man, "you might want to think about using the stairs."
"Thanks, Superman," one of the cops said, as they took the still-ranting man into custody.
"Hey, Superman!" his partner called out. "There's a fire over on Mission Street."
"On it," Superman said, flying away quickly.
"He is so cool," Jimmy said, admiringly, as they headed back to his car.
"Yeah," Chloe agreed, quietly, wondering if she could use her current appearance to get Superman to show her his face.
"So," she asked, once they were back in the car and driving down the street, "where do we find this Zatanna?"
"She's got a show tonight at the Ace of Clubs," Jimmy answered. After a moment, he asked, "Do you really think that she could make someone go crazy like that?"
"This is hardly the weirdest thing to happen to this town," Chloe pointed out, and Jimmy agreed with her.
They pulled into a parking spot behind the still-empty Ace of Clubs, and found the door unlocked. Walking inside, they found Zatanna standing at the bar, flirting with the bartender. At the sound of footsteps on the metal stairs, the pair turned to see the visitors, and the bartender frowned at them.
"We're not open yet," he told them, but Chloe shook her head.
"We just want to talk to Zatanna," Chloe told him, and the other woman smiled.
"I've been waiting for you to show up," she said, cheerfully.
"You have?" Jimmy asked, skeptically. "Well, in that case, we have a few questions we'd like you to answer."
"Why don't you talk to the bartender?" Chloe suggested, quickly, wanting to keep him as far away from Zatanna as possible. "I'll see what I can get out of Miss Fishnets, down there."
"Miss Fishnets?" Jimmy echoed, as they went down the rest of the stairs. "I thought only Chloe talked like that."
He went over to the bar and started talking to the bartender while Chloe followed Zatanna into a small room off the kitchen in the back.
"What can I help you with, Ms. Sullivan?" Zatanna asked, leaning against the wall as Chloe shut the door securely behind her.
"Then, you knew about this?" Chloe accused.
"Well, it wasn't hard to figure out," Zatanna told her. "I've only cast two spells lately, and you're not the man who wanted a better understanding of language, so you must be the birthday girl."
"You caused this to happen?" Chloe asked, trying to clarify the situation.
"Technically, I only supplied the magic," Zatanna told her. "Your wish is what shaped it. Although, I never thought you'd make a wish like this."
"I didn't think it could actually happen," Chloe admitted.
"Let me guess," Zatanna said, with a smirk. "You want me to change you back. Well, sorry, but-"
"No!" Chloe burst out, interrupting her, and Zatanna raised an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"No," she repeated. "You don't want me to change you back? Even though you're walking around making everyone think that you're really your cousin?"
Chloe fidgeted, staring uneasily at the floor, and Zatanna laughed.
"Oh, this is too good," she said. "I have to admit, you are a first. I've never met anyone who wished to take over someone's life, before."
"It used to be my life," Chloe told her, feeling sullen. "Then I walked away from it and I don't even remember why."
"Well, maybe this will give you the chance to remember why," Zatanna told her. "Just remember one thing."
"What's that?" Chloe asked, suspiciously.
"You're not the only one this wish is affecting," Zatanna said, mysteriously, and then as the door opened behind Chloe, she added in a louder voice, "The man who made the wish will go back to normal when he no longer wants it."
"Oh, good, you found something out," Jimmy said, poking his head through the door. "CK just called my cell; he said you're not answering your phone."
"My battery died," Chloe said, feeling guilty at the rush of relief she felt knowing that Lois wasn't about to spoil things by answering her phone.
"I told him about the guy on the roof, and he wants us to meet him back at the Planet," Jimmy continued.
"Well, let's get going, then," Chloe said, hurriedly.
"Remember what I said," Zatanna said, as she and Jimmy were leaving the club. "The spell only breaks when you want it to."
"You?" Jimmy said, as they got in his car. "Lois, what was she talking about?"
"Nothing," Chloe said, guiltily. "I'm sure she was just talking about that guy on the roof."
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Lois had always considered herself comfortable with computers, but she knew she was nowhere near Chloe's level. But, Jimmy had shown her a few things about working with computers, and back when they'd still been dating, Oliver had conned her into helping him update his company's public website a few times, so she had a slight advantage.
Not much of one, since her trigger-happy captors were still breathing down her neck, but at least she was certain she could keep her charade going for a little while longer. At least long enough to warn Chloe and Jimmy that they were in trouble.
Booting up the computer, Lois huffed a sigh at the password screen that immediately popped up.
"You know," she called out, getting Livewire's attention. "I'm going to need to know whose computer this is."
"We told you that's none of your business," Livewire snapped.
"I need to know who the person is so I can figure out their login password," Lois explained, patiently. "Otherwise I could be stuck on this screen for the rest of the day."
Livewire and Plastique exchanged a look, and then Plastique grudgingly admitted, "Oliver Queen."
"You stole Oliver Queen's laptop?" Lois asked, incredulously, planning on ribbing Oliver about it as soon as she was free.
"Just get into the files," Livewire told her, stalking away to the other side of the room.
Lois settled her fingers back on the keyboard, thinking. She was pretty sure she knew Oliver well enough to anticipate what he'd pick as his passwords, and after a moment, typed her own name into the screen. It flashed an incorrect password message at her, so she tried Dinah's.
When that didn't work, she tried Black Canary, and then just Canary, grinning in triumph when the computer continued its start up procedure.
"What am I looking for?" Lois asked, when the computer had finished booting up.
"Blueprints," Plastique told her. "There are supposed to be blueprints and information for some secret hideaway Queen's got built somewhere in the city."
"And you think he'd keep something like that on his personal computer?" Lois asked, skeptically.
"Just-" Livewire started, and Lois rolled her eyes at the predictability.
"I know, I know," she said. "Get you what you want."
Determined to waste as much time as possible without getting electrocuted again, Lois started going through each and every file on Oliver's computer, starting with the e-mail. She didn't read anything, respecting Oliver too much to violate his privacy like that, but she spent enough time on each file to make it seem like she was being thorough.
She almost went back on her promise when she saw Barbara Gordon's e-mail address on quite a few of the files, but she held firm, figuring she'd just badger Oliver until he told her what she wanted to know.
"Haven't you found anything, yet?" Livewire wanted to know, storming over to Lois and glaring at the computer over her shoulder.
"I haven't even been at it for an hour," Lois told her, curtly. "Have some patience, will ya?"
"I'd check that attitude if I was you, Sullivan," Livewire said, nastily. "Or, do you want Lane and Olsen to suffer for your arrogance?"
"Checking the attitude," Lois muttered, shooting a glare of her own at Livewire. "Oh, and by the way? If you hurt them, I will kill you."
She settled back into digging through Oliver's computer, careful to avoid the more sensitive information when either of the women was looking her way. She'd just hit on what they wanted, blueprints and alarm codes to the clock tower headquarters of the Justice League when the door to ISIS slammed open. Lois quickly clicked over to another page and spun her chair around in time to see Parasite come sprinting through the door and into the room, a body cradled in his arms.
"What happened?" Livewire demanded as Parasite laid the body on the floor.
"Something got Neutron," Parasite said, tersely, and Lois inched her chair over until she could see the body on the floor, its chest ripped open to reveal a gaping cavity where the heart had once been.
Lois swallowed hard, taking a deep breath to try and quell the nausea rising in her throat. She shut her eyes, but the image of the boy's shredded body was burned into her memory.
"How did this happen?" Livewire demanded of Parasite.
"Doom-" Lois started, hoarsely, and then she had to take another deep breath and start again. "Doomsday," she said, quietly.
"What did you say?" Plastique demanded. "What's a Doomsday?"
"It's the monster that attacked my – my wedding," Lois said, covering quickly when she remembered that they thought she was Chloe. "That's-"
'That's what Clark said I looked like after Doomsday attacked me,' Lois finished, silently. 'Oh, god, no wonder Clark lost it. I thought he and that kid from the future finished this monster off.'
"I don't think this is what killed Neutron," Parasite told them, and the women looked at him in surprise.
"How could it not be what killed him?" Livewire demanded.
"Because he was dead when I found him," Parasite said. "Before this thing showed up to rip us both apart. I barely got out of there with what's left of Neutron's body."
"Then what did kill him?" Plastique demanded.
"I don't know," Parasite admitted. "That's what I brought him for."
He gestured back at the door, and for the first time, Lois noticed Dr. Hamilton standing by the door, staring down at Neutron's body with a mix of curiosity and fear on his face.
"He works for Queen," Parasite said, grabbing the man and dragging him forward. "I figured he could do an autopsy and tell us what really killed Neutron."
"I don't – this isn't the proper place to conduct an autopsy," Hamilton said, his voice shaking slightly. "And I don't have the proper training, anyway."
"Well, then you'll have to learn, won't you?" Livewire snapped. "Get to work."
Hamilton looked down at the knives their captors had provided him with and then over at Neutron's body, his face going pale.
"Dr. Hamilton," Lois hissed, scooting her chair forward. The man didn't seem to hear her. "Emil," she said, insistently, and he jerked in surprise.
"Do I know you?" Hamilton asked, looking up at her, nervously.
"Emil, I'm Lois Lane," she whispered, keeping an eye out for any of their captors approaching.
"I think I like the way your hair was before," Hamilton joked, weakly, and Lois sighed.
"I can't believe you believe me," she said.
"Ms. Lane, I've been kidnapped by a group of meteor mutants who want me to autopsy the body of a boy who was ripped apart by an alien monster," Hamilton said. "You're hardly the strangest part of my day."
"Glad I could oblige," Lois said. "Need some help with that autopsy?"
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Chloe and Jimmy walked into the bullpen to find Clark sitting at his desk, hard at work. His face lit up when he spotted Chloe, and her heart leapt until she remembered that he thought he was looking at Lois.
'Well, for today at least, I am Lois,' she reminded herself, firmly. 'And being with Clark is something I wanted for years.'
"Hey, beautiful," Clark greeted, bending to kiss her, and Chloe quickly turned her head so that his lips landed on her cheek.
Chloe blushed as Clark shot her a quizzical look, thinking about her wedding ring that she'd tucked safely away in her wallet before coming into the Planet. She was beginning to realize what Zatanna meant about not being the only one affected by the spell.
"Something wrong?" Clark asked, concerned. "If this is about me having to leave this morning-"
"No, no, nothing like that!" Chloe protested, immediately, wondering what Clark was talking about. "No, I just don't feel very well. I'm coming down with a cold and I don't want you to catch it."
"Okay," Clark said, still giving her a strange look.
"So, did Jimmy tell you about the excitement from this morning?" Chloe asked, trying to divert his attention away from her behavior. "Superman even showed up. He couldn't stay, though. Something about a fire on Mission Street."
"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Clark said. "Two buildings were almost completely gutted by the time I got there."
"Were you covering the story?" Chloe asked, curiously.
"Covering the story?" Clark echoed, an odd look on his face. "Lois, are you sure you're-"
He trailed off, looking over her shoulder, and Chloe followed his gaze to see Jimmy standing behind her.
"Covering the story, right," Clark said, hastily. "That's exactly what I was doing."
"I'm going to go download the pictures of the jumper on my computer," Jimmy told them, heading toward his own desk, and Clark let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice catch," he told Chloe, gratefully. "I can't believe I didn't see Jimmy standing there."
'What does Jimmy have to do with anything?' Chloe thought, confused, but she didn't want to voice her thoughts and make Clark any more suspicious than he already was.
"So, I was thinking that we could go talk to the guy in the hospital," Clark told her. "Maybe he can tell us something Zatanna didn't tell you two."
"Do you want to take your car?" Chloe asked, hoping he said yes. She didn't want to have to explain what 'Lois' was doing driving her cousin's little car instead of her Jeep.
"You want to drive to the hospital?" Clark asked, confusion on his face.
"Did you have another way of getting there?" Chloe asked.
Instead of answering, Clark looked around the bullpen like he expected someone to be listening in on their conversation. When he didn't see anyone around, he shot Chloe a strange look.
"Lois, are you sure you're feeling all right?" he asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Chloe insisted. "Let's go talk to that man."
Shaking his head in confusion, Clark led the way to the elevators, but rather than punching the button for the lobby, he hit the button for the roof. As the elevator started moving upwards, Chloe was dying to demand an explanation, but she didn't want Clark asking any more questions of his own.
They stepped out on the roof, the door clanging shut behind them. Before Chloe could say anything, Clark had scooped her up into his arms, and then to her utter amazement, she found herself flying through the air. Startled, she looked up at Clark, who looked peaceful as they flew.
'Superman,' she realized in shock. 'Clark is Superman.'
It was like the realization broke a dam inside of her. The memories that had teased at the edges of her mind for months suddenly came back full force. She remembered following Clark to the arctic and finding out that he was an alien, remembered lying to her friends and family to protect Clark's secret, remembered her decision not to go back to the Planet because it made it easier to work with Clark.
'This is why I gave up my life at the Planet,' she thought. 'I did it so I could help Clark, but from the looks of it, he doesn't need my help. He doesn't really need me, now that's he's got Lois in his life.'
They landed at the hospital, then, and Chloe followed Clark down the hall to the room where the man from the roof was. Clark knocked softly on the door jamb as they entered, and the man looked up at them.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"You're speaking English!" Chloe blurted out, receiving yet another surprise for the day. "You gave up your wish!"
"It wasn't a hard choice to make," the man admitted.
"But, how could you give up something you'd wanted so badly?" Chloe pressed. "Weren't you happy with what you'd been granted?"
"No one could understand me," the man told her. "I was escorted here by the police, ranting like a mad man. How could I want that?"
"Will the police be pressing charges?" Clark asked, as Chloe was thinking about the man's answer.
"Thankfully, no," the man replied, clearly relieved. "Apparently, there are enough people screaming from the rooftops around here that it's no longer considered a violation of disturbing the peace."
"You're probably the only one who was screaming in Latin," Clark quipped. "So, why did Zatanna offer to grant you a wish in the first place?"
"She offered me the wish in trade for a book that I'd had in my store," the man told them. "Unfortunately for her, all I could tell her was that I had sold the book to a private collector. She considered it a fair trade, though."
"What kind of book?" Chloe asked, inserting herself into the conversation.
"She wanted the book for a spell that it contains," the man answered. "It raises the dead."
"And who does she want to resurrect?" Clark asked, cautiously.
"Her father," the man said.
As they were leaving the hospital, Clark sighed heavily, and Chloe looked at him.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"I was just thinking that I don't blame Zatanna," Clark told her. "If I had a chance to bring my dad back from the dead, I think I'd take it."
"You wouldn't if it meant hurting other people in the process," Chloe said, firmly. "And Zatanna's wishes are hurting people."
"Wishes?" Clark repeated, catching onto her word. "The guy only made one wish."
"But, I'll bet there were others," Chloe said quickly, covering. "Other people she conned into helping her find that book."
"Probably," Clark admitted. "Where now?"
"Do you mind dropping me off by ISIS?" Chloe asked, thinking of using her computers to find out more about that book. "I want to talk to Chloe about something. Girl stuff," she added, just in case Clark was thinking of tagging along.
"Sure," Clark said, and they took off into the air, again.
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"There's nothing obvious in Neutron's chest or torso," Hamilton said, quietly. "Not without dissecting further into his body. Help me roll the boy over, please."
Lois grimaced but helped Hamilton roll Neutron's body onto its stomach, her own stomach rolling at the sight of the blood pooled on the floor.
"I knew there was a reason I never dissected those frogs in high school biology," she said, trying not to breathe deeply and smell the blood.
"To be honest," Hamilton admitted, as he and Lois gave the boy's back the same careful scrutiny as his front, "I was never fond of dissecting frogs, either."
"I think you picked the wrong career," Lois told him.
"Sometimes I wonder," Hamilton said. "Did you find anything?"
"There's a weird bump on the back of his neck," Lois said. "Right here."
Hamilton took a pen out of his pocket and drew a circle on the back of Neutron's neck, around the edges of the bump.
"This is going to get messy," he warned Lois.
"Like the rest of this hasn't been?" she asked, wryly.
Taking the smallest of the knives, Hamilton slowly sliced into the back of Neutron's neck, running the blade carefully from one end of the circle to the other.
"Hold this back," he told Lois, who held back the flap of skin with a grimace.
"They could have given us gloves," she grumbled, softly, so as not to attract unwanted attention.
"I can feel things better without any gloves on," Hamilton said, absently. "This little, metal protrusion, for instance."
Carefully, he worked the knife under and around the piece of metal and then cut it out of Neutron's neck where it was resting on his spinal column. He dropped the scorched piece of metal into Lois's outstretched hand, and she closed her fingers around it tightly.
"I wish I had some thread," Hamilton said, staring down at Neutron's body. "It seems disrespectful to just leave him like this. What will his family think when they see him in this condition?"
"I don't think the Psycho Gang plans on sending him back to his family, Doc," Lois remarked. Raising her voice, she called out, "Hey! Hamilton found what killed your friend."
Parasite, Livewire, and Plastique came over to where Hamilton was busy covering Neutron with the sheet he'd been laying on during the autopsy. Wordlessly, Lois held out the piece of metal, letting it fall into Livewire's outstretched hand.
"What is it?" the woman demanded, impatiently.
"I believe it's a micro explosive device," Hamilton said, getting everyone's attention. "The part of the boy's spinal column where the device was affixed has been damaged."
"Could it have killed him?" Parasite asked, and Hamilton nodded an affirmative.
"The damage afflicted by the explosive device would most certainly have ended his life," Hamilton told him.
"How'd he get a bomb planted in his brain?" Plastique demanded.
"Mercer," Lois answered, before Hamilton could speak, and the trio looked at her. "Mercer's the one who put your little gang together, and she's the one pulling your strings. It makes sense that she'd want some sort of insurance over you."
Before any of them could say anything in response, they heard the soft scratching of a key in the door. Lois had a second to see herself entering the front waiting area of ISIS, and then she lunged forward and helped Hamilton shove Neutron's body out of sight. Then, Plastique grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.
"Get rid of her," she hissed, shoving Lois forward toward the waiting area.
Chloe was pacing the length of the waiting area, wringing her hands anxiously. Her head snapped up as Lois stepped into the room, and she opened and closed her mouth several times like she was trying to say something but couldn't force the words out.
"Hey, Lois," Lois said, lightly, squashing the guilt she felt at the anguished look on her cousin's face.
As much as she wanted to talk to Chloe and find out what was bothering her, she knew the best way to protect her was to get her out of ISIS as quickly as possible.
"Um," Chloe stammered, and Lois didn't give her a chance to spill the magic beans.
"Isn't Clark with you?" she asked, peering over Chloe's shoulder, praying to see her boyfriend standing outside. "I thought you two were joined at the hip these days."
"I told Clark I had some girl stuff to talk about, so he took off," Chloe said, and Lois's heart sank in dismay.
"Well, is it going to take long?" Lois asked, trying to hurry Chloe along. "I was kind of in the middle of a counseling session. You remember Bette, right?"
She gestured to the girl standing behind her, and Chloe's eyes went wide as Plastique stepped up beside Lois.
"I don't think we were properly introduced, last time," Chloe said, faintly, shaking the hand that Plastique held out to her. "Didn't Chloe tell me that you were in jail?"
"I got out for good behavior," Plastique said, a faintly menacing tone in her voice.
"I – I really need to talk to you, Chloe," Chloe said, her voice cracking slightly.
"This isn't a good time," Lois said, firmly, putting her hand on Chloe's back and pushing her toward the door.
"But-" Chloe protested, weakly.
"I need you to leave," Lois said, looking Chloe squarely in the eyes. "I'm busy here. Go back to work."
"Okay," Chloe agreed, quietly, and whether she got the message or was just hurt by Lois's seemingly dismissive attitude, Lois couldn't tell.
She also didn't particularly care, so long as Chloe was safely out of there. She breathed a sigh of relief after Chloe left, grateful that she hadn't noticed the body hidden on the floor under the sheet. As curious as Chloe could be, that one would have been impossible to explain. It would have also placed her in even more danger, and Lois wasn't about to let that happen.
"If your nosy cousin goes to the police," Plastique said, her tone definitely threatening, now, "then you and Hamilton are going to pay. Got it?"
So much for not putting anyone else in danger.
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Chloe was silent for the entire trip back to the Planet, and eventually Clark noticed. He didn't say anything, but he steered Chloe away from the Planet and down the street.
"Where are we going?" Chloe asked, confused.
"Lunch," Clark told her. "I found this great little Greek place that I think you'd love."
Chloe followed Clark down the street, curious as to where he could be taking her. Then, as they stepped through the doorway of the tiny café, she stopped in her tracks.
"You coming?" Clark asked, noticing her hesitation.
"Clark, this is really romantic," she said, softly, taking in the quiet, candlelit atmosphere of the café.
The table Clark had stopped beside had a vase filled with cherry blossoms sitting in the center, and since all the other tables were unadorned, Chloe had a feeling that it was deliberate. She remembered seeing Clark get off his phone when she'd left ISIS, and now she had a feeling she knew what he'd been planning. She felt like scum when she realized that Clark had to have been planning this surprise for a while for Lois, and she couldn't take that away from her cousin.
"I can't," Chloe said, quietly, as Clark looked at her in confusion. "I can't do this to Lois."
"Lois, what are you talking about?" he asked, coming over to where she was still standing in the doorway.
"I'm not Lois," Chloe told him. "Clark, I'm Chloe."
"What?" Clark repeated, puzzled.
"That magician at my birthday party last night?" Chloe reminded him, quickly. "She cursed me, and when I woke up this morning, I looked like Lois."
"You're Chloe," Clark said, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Chloe nodded, timidly, and Clark pursed his lips in a thin line.
"What's her name?" he asked. When Chloe looked at him in confusion, he elaborated. "The magician that cursed you. What's her name?"
"Zatanna," Chloe admitted, quietly.
"The same one that put the spell on the guy I rescued?" Clark asked, and Chloe nodded, again.
"She's at the Ace of Clubs," she told him, anticipating his next question.
"Come on," Clark said, sweeping past her and heading out of the café. "We're going to find Zatanna and get her to change you back."
Five minutes later they were landing in the parking lot of the Ace of Clubs, and when they went inside the club, Zatanna's eyes lit up when she saw Chloe.
"You're back," she said. "Changed your mind?"
"You need to take this curse off Chloe," Clark broke in, his voice brusque.
"A curse?" Zatanna repeated. "You think what I did is a curse? Why don't you ask your friend what my spell really is?"
Chloe winced as Clark turned to her, his face completely expressionless.
"What did you do?" Clark demanded, his tone hard.
"I made a wish," Chloe told him, fighting the urge to cry. She'd never seen Clark so angry at her before. "Zatanna offered me a wish-"
"And so you stole Lois's life?" Clark finished, incredulously. "What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't," Chloe admitted, softly. "I didn't think it could really happen."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Clark asked, furiously. "Why would you let everyone, let me, think that you were Lois?"
"Because I thought this was the life I wanted," Chloe told him, no longer stopping the tears that flowed down her cheeks.
"What about Jimmy?" Clark asked, unmoved by her tears. "Didn't you want a life with him, anymore?"
He paced the length of the room, anxiously, like he couldn't stand to be near her for very long. Then, he whirled suddenly and rushed back to her, grabbing her arms.
"Chloe, where's Lois?" he demanded, fear clear in his voice. "If you look like Lois, then what happened to her?"
"She's at ISIS," Chloe told him. "Clark, she's fine. She was talking to Bette when I saw her."
"Bette?" Clark echoed. "The same Bette who blew up a bus, killed her friend, and tried to kill you? And you just left her there?"
"Lois said she was fine," Chloe protested, stubbornly.
"She was lying because she didn't want you to get hurt!" Clark exploded. "I have to go find her."
"I'm sure she's fine," Chloe repeated, insistently.
"She better be," Clark snapped, and then he disappeared in a flash.
"I'm sorry," Chloe whispered after him, tears streaking down her face.
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"Did you find those blueprints, yet?" Livewire asked, standing over Lois's shoulder as she munched on a sandwich.
"Not yet," Lois said, irritated, brushing crumbs off the keyboard. "And, thanks for offering to feed your captives."
"You'll get food when you find those blueprints," came the answer.
"Then we're never going to get fed," Hamilton muttered from where he'd been tied to another chair.
He pasted a guileless look on his face when Livewire looked over at him, and Lois found herself liking the man even more.
"You'll get food when you take these bombs out of our heads," Livewire snapped at him.
"While I don't agree with how your lives are being threatened," Hamilton told her, "you and your friends are in no immediate danger, and I will not further endanger your lives by operating on your spinal columns without anesthesia, a sterile area, or the proper equipment."
"Then you're never going to get fed," Livewire said, nastily, mocking him.
"Can't you just blast the things out of our head?" Parasite asked, from where he was lounging on the couch in Chloe's office.
"If I want to blast your brains in the process, sure," Livewire replied. "Do you want to spend the rest of your days as a drooling husk?"
"Just don't use a lot of power," Plastique spoke up, coming into the room. "And try it on me, first. I can take whatever you dish out."
"Don't blame me if I fry your synapses," Livewire grumbled, but she obligingly put the tips of her fingers on the back of Plastique's neck when the other girl swept her long hair aside.
Lois spun her chair around to watch, and Parasite glared at her.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"You've been holding me prisoner here and forcing me to break into a friend's laptop," Lois told him, icily. "You threatened to kill my friends and family. You threatened to kill me. Do you think I'm not going to take the chance to watch Psycho Spice over there get electrocuted?"
"Shut up," Livewire snapped, cutting off whatever reply Parasite was about to make. "I need to focus."
Livewire took a deep breath and pressed her fingers into the back of Plastique's neck. Then, a spark jumped out of her fingers and Plastique jerked from the shock. But she was still standing when Livewire pulled her hand away.
"I feel okay," she said, cautiously.
"All right, my turn," Parasite said, jumping up.
Livewire shocked him, too, and then she did the same to herself.
"Do you think it worked?" she asked.
"The only way to know for sure would be if Ms. Mercer were to press the detonator," Hamilton spoke up, revealing a sadistic streak.
Livewire stepped toward him, towering menacingly, but then the front door blew in off its hinges and a gust of wind blasted her across the room. A second later, Plastique and Parasite were being dumped in the same corner that Livewire had landed in.
Clark appeared in front of Lois's chair, dressed in his Superman costume, and Lois sagged against the chair in relief.
"It's about time, Smallville," she joked, weakly.
"I didn't think I was going to get here in time," Clark confessed, snapping the bonds that secured her to the chair.
He freed Hamilton as well, checking the man over quickly to make sure that he wasn't hurt, and then he turned back to Lois, sweeping her off her feet and into a hard hug.
"I knew something was wrong," he mumbled into her hair. "I should have known that wasn't your heartbeat."
"I knew you'd come for me," Lois replied. "Didn't know when, but I knew you'd come."
"Folks, I hate to break up such a touching reunion," Hamilton interrupted, gently, "but did anyone see where our captors escaped to?"
Lois looked around and saw that the trio had fled, leaving them alone in ISIS.
"They ran away rather than face Clark," she said. "Smartest move they made all day."
"That does, however, mean that they're out there, running free," Hamilton pointed out.
"I'll get them, Emil," Clark told the other man. "Don't worry."
Hamilton nodded, and then gestured toward Neutron's body.
"Could I get your help with the boy, Clark?" he asked. "I want to be able to deliver his body back to his family."
Clark helped Hamilton wrap Neutron more securely in the blood soaked sheet and then carried him out the back entrance to where Lois's car was parked. They got the body situated on the tarp Lois kept in her car for when she needed to take Shelby someplace, and then Lois handed Hamilton her keys.
"I'll come pick my car up later," she told him.
Lois leaned against Clark as they watched Hamilton drive off, and Clark wrapped his arms around her waist, holding on tightly.
"For a few seconds today, I didn't know where you were," he said, quietly. "I didn't know if you were all right, or even if you were alive. I've never been so scared in my life."
"I don't think today was a picnic for either of us," Lois said. "When I get my hands on that magician – what did she think she was doing, body-swapping me and Chloe, anyway?"
"It wasn't just you two," Clark told her. "She cast a spell on a guy who tried to help her find a book – she was looking for a book of magic. Lois, who do we know who collects rare books?"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Lois groaned, as realization struck. "Mercer's after the book, too. That's why she had me going through his computer for blueprints to the Watchtower."
"We have to find Oliver before Zatanna gets her hands on that book," Clark said.
"Grab Ollie's laptop, first," Lois told him. "It's got too much stuff on it to just leave it lying around."
Clark zipped back into the building and came out a second later with the laptop tucked safely under his arm. Then he scooped Lois up into his arms and took off into the sky, in the direction of the Watchtower. They landed on the roof a few minutes later, and Clark froze at the sight before him.
Oliver was chained to a pole in the middle of the roof, struggling against the metal chains that held him in place. Chloe was a few feet from the doorway, caught frozen in a wave of golden energy. And Zatanna was in the middle, her arms outstretched and reaching for the sky, a wild look in her eyes. Above them all, a storm was raging.
"Chloe!" Lois screamed, seeing the danger her cousin was in.
It barely registered in her mind that Chloe looked like herself, again. The only thing that mattered was that Chloe was in trouble.
"Zatanna, let them go!" Clark thundered, starting towards the woman.
"They shouldn't have interfered!" Zatanna cried, and as he got closer, Clark could see tears in her eyes. "It was supposed to be me in that spell."
"It's a sacrifice," Clark realized. "You were going to sacrifice yourself to bring your father back to life."
"It's my choice," Zatanna told him.
"You're not the only one affected by this choice," Clark insisted. "Zatanna, you can't do this."
He moved slowly toward the woman, but froze when she held up a hand crackling with energy. He kept a wary eye on both her and her captives.
"I'm going to bring my father back," she said, stubbornly, tears streaking down her face. "He shouldn't have died; it should have been me."
"Do you think your father would want that?" Clark asked, taking a chance and edging closer and closer to Zatanna. "Do you think he'd want to come back and find that you've given up your life to save his?"
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Zatanna cried, practically screaming to be heard above the howling winds. "How could you understand anything of what I'm going through?"
"Because I've been where you are," Clark told her, and Zatanna's eyes widened in surprise. "I made a mistake; I thought I could play God. And my father paid the price. He died because I thought I could control life and death."
"It's not the same thing," Zatanna protested, and the anguish in her voice made Lois's heart break for her.
"Don't make the same mistake I did," Clark entreated her. "Your father had a good life. Honor that, honor him. Live your life as the kind of person he would have wanted you to be."
Zatanna nodded, and then in a voice choked by tears, she called out, "Latrop eht esolc!"
There was a blinding flash and a crack of thunder and then the golden wave holding Chloe suspended disappeared, letting her fall weakly to the rooftop. Lois rushed to her cousin's side, checking for a pulse, and when she gave Clark a thumbs-up, he breathed a sigh of relief.
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Clark went over to Oliver and was about to break the chains holding him to the pole when Zatanna called out, "Wait!" Holding out a slightly-shaking hand, she murmured, "Leets yb dnuobnu."
The chains loosened and fell to the roof, and Clark caught Oliver as he lurched forward, holding him upright until he'd gotten his feet underneath him.
"What is it with you and women who tie you up?" Clark asked, and Oliver shot him an exasperated look.
"It's not like I plan for this to happen," he protested.
The sound of clinking chains drew their attention over to Zatanna, who was gathering up the length of steel, staring resolutely down so as not to meet anyone's gaze. Clark tipped his head in Zatanna's direction and Oliver nodded, indicating that he'd take care of it. That problem resolved, Clark went over to where Lois and Chloe were sitting, quietly talking.
"What were you thinking?" Lois was demanding as Clark came over.
"I – I made this mess, and I thought if I could fix it-" Chloe began, but then she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
"Damn it, Chloe, you could have gotten yourself killed!" Lois snapped, and Clark heard the raw pain in her voice at even the idea of Chloe being gone.
"I'm sorry," Chloe whispered, clearly ashamed.
"I just-" Lois continued, "I don't – what were you thinking?" she finally demanded, again, unable or unwilling to put what she really felt into words.
"I wasn't," Chloe admitted, softly. "I wasn't thinking about anyone but myself."
Lois jumped to her feet at Chloe's words and stalked over to where Oliver and Zatanna were talking, tension radiating from every line of her body. When Clark sat down next to Chloe, he saw the same misery written on her face as well.
"Lois is still mad at me, isn't she?" Chloe asked, quietly, when Clark remained silent.
"Yes," Clark told her, honestly. "So am I," he added, after a moment.
Chloe nodded, accepting that fact.
"I don't blame you guys," she said. "What I did was pretty stupid."
"What you did was dangerous," Clark corrected, still too angry to let her off the hook even the tiniest bit. "Chloe, two people could have been seriously hurt, today. Lois could have died because of your actions. If any of those people had found out who she really was-"
"I know," Chloe said, and there were tears shining in her eyes. "Clark, I'm sorry. I know I hurt you and Lois-"
"Hurt doesn't begin to describe what I'm feeling right now," Clark told her. "Chloe you made a choice to lie to the people who love you. You betrayed the trust we had in you."
"I screwed up," Chloe said, softly. "How do I fix it?" she asked, plaintively.
"Well, for starters," Clark told her, "you need to talk to the person who was hurt the most by all of this."
When Chloe looked over at Lois, Clark shook his head.
"Jimmy," he said, and Chloe started in surprise.
"But, he doesn't even know," she protested.
"Don't you think he should?" Clark asked, bluntly. "Don't you think he should know that you were willing to throw away your wedding vows to have someone else's life?"
"I didn't-" Chloe protested in a last attempt to defend herself, but Clark cut her off.
"You weren't wearing your wedding ring all day," he pointed out. "I think you should take some time to think about why before putting it back on."
"What do I say to him?" Chloe asked, looking about as low as Clark had ever seen her.
"There's no script for this," Clark told her. "But, if it was me, I'd start with sorry."
Chloe nodded and then got slowly to her feet, staring out at the evening sky.
"I should get going," she said, not looking at Clark. "I have a long drive before I get home."
She didn't ask Clark for a lift and Clark didn't offer her one. After a moment, Chloe trudged toward the door to the stairs, her shoulders hunched in defeat. Clark had a feeling she was crying. When he walked back over to Lois, Oliver, and Zatanna, Oliver was on his cell phone, watching Chloe leave.
"George, Ms Sullivan is coming downstairs," he told the security guard. "Escort her to her car and make sure she gets off safely."
Clark looked over at Lois, who was staring after Chloe with an indecipherable look on her face.
"You okay?" he asked, quietly, and Lois shook her head.
"The last time I was this angry at someone was when I caught Lucy skipping school to smoke pot with some college kids," Lois told him.
"I can imagine how that turned out," Clark replied.
"There was a lot of yelling," Lois said. "Me yelling at Lucy, the General yelling at Lucy, the General yelling at me. Then, no one spoke to each other for three days and then the General got deployed and Lucy got shipped off to boarding school."
Giving Clark a lopsided smile, she added, "Did I mention that my family's kind of dysfunctional?"
"Too late, you're not getting rid of me that easy," Clark told her. "You're stuck with me, now, and I'm not going to let your crazy family scare me off."
"Would you believe that I have to put up with this mushy stuff all the time?" Oliver broke in with a stage whisper. Lois rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't you have to go buy out Luthorcorp, or something?" she asked.
"I do have to get going," Oliver admitted. Turning to Zatanna, he added, "You'll think about my offer? I could use someone with your talents in my organization."
"I'll think about it," Zatanna told him.
Pulling a business card literally out of thin air, she scrawled something on it and passed it to Oliver.
"In case you ever want to reach me," she said.
"What's this, some kind of spell?" Oliver asked, scrutinizing the card. "Do I say this out loud and you just appear or something?"
"It's my phone number," Zatanna told him, a smile quirking at her lips.
"Is everyone okay to get off the roof?" Oliver asked, as he headed for the door. "Do I need to leave the door unlocked?"
"I think we're okay," Clark told him.
"Speaking of locking your doors," Lois told him, "you should really think about updating your security system."
She handed Oliver his laptop, clearing up the confused expression on his face.
"This went missing during our last security sweep two weeks ago," he said. "Who had it?"
"A group working for Tess Mercer," Lois told him, waiting to gauge his reaction.
Oliver was silent for a long moment and then he sighed, heavily.
"Guess it's time I had another conversation with Tess," he said, and then he left.
"He is a very interesting man," Zatanna said, watching Oliver leave.
"He's something all right," Lois agreed. "Hey," she said, and Zatanna looked over at her. "Something I've been meaning to ask you. Why'd I turn into Chloe? I didn't make any wishes."
"It was a side effect from Chloe's wish," Zatanna told her. "It wouldn't have been a very good spell if there were two of you running around."
"At least it wore off," Clark remarked.
"I am sorry that you were hurt by it," Zatanna told Lois. "My magic is supposed to help, not harm, and had I known, I would have taken steps to end the situation, myself."
Lois was silent for a long minute, thinking, and then she shook her head.
"Looking like Chloe kept her from being the one who got hurt," she said, quietly. "The spell was worth that much."
"I do wish there was some way I could make this up to you, though," Zatanna said.
"Can you keep people from finding out that Clark is Superman?" Lois asked, wryly.
"Yeah, actually, I can," Zatanna said. "Disguise spells are easy."
She held a hand out, and a spark of energy leapt from her fingers to Clark's temple. He jumped slightly at the electric shock, and then Zatanna lowered her arm.
"All done," she told them.
"That's it?" Lois asked, in surprise. "Clark doesn't look any different."
"The spell won't have any effect on you, or anyone who already knows Clark's alter ego," Zatanna said. "But for those who don't know, they will be unable to see Clark as Superman, and vice versa."
"I should probably still wear the glasses, though," Clark said. "Just to be on the safe side."
"Thank you," Lois said, and Zatanna nodded.
"It was the least I could do after today," she said. "See you both later."
She disappeared in a flash of light, and Lois shook her head as she turned back to Clark.
"This day is too weird," she declared.
Clark nodded in agreement. "How's dinner sound to you?" he suggested.
While Lois was still looking at him in surprise, he scooped her up into his arms and took off into the darkening sky. He landed a few minutes later at the café he'd made reservations at earlier, and he spun back into his work clothes, Lois watching him with an amused smile on her face.
"I'm still waiting for an explanation," she told him.
"You'll see," Clark said, taking her hand and leading her into the café. "Close your eyes," he added, right before they went through the door.
Lois obligingly put her free hand over her eyes.
"You're not going to lead me into any doors, are you?" she asked, teasingly.
"Never," Clark told her.
He led Lois over to the table in the corner that was, thankfully, still set up. The maitre-de placed a couple of menus on the table and asked, quietly, "I see that you have made up with your lady friend, then?"
"Something like that," Clark told the man.
"Just because my eyes are closed doesn't mean I can't hear you talking about me," Lois said, pointedly.
"Keep them closed for a few more seconds," Clark said, guiding her to sit down.
Sitting down in his own chair, he pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket and placed in front of Lois.
"Okay," he said, and she opened her eyes.
She gasped in delight at the sight of the cherry blossoms, and then her eyes fell on the jewelry box. Eyes widening in shock, she stared at Clark, but he shook his head.
"I don't think we're quite at that stage in our relationship, yet," he reassured her, and she let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Gave me a bit of a shock there, Smallville," she told him as she opened the jewelry box, and then she gasped in surprise.
"This is beautiful," she murmured, lifting the delicate bracelet out of the velvet-lined box.
Made of several thin, braided strands of silver, the bracelet was adorned with a single, small diamond set in the center.
"This is from my mom's wedding ring," Lois said, recognizing the stone. "My dad gave you her ring?"
"He told me he'd always planned on giving it to you someday," Clark told her, and Lois's eyes started misting over.
"He never said a word," she said, quietly.
Wiping at her eyes, she turned the bracelet over and saw a symbol etched on the back of the setting.
"It means soul mates," Clark offered, before she could ask.
"And what brought on this romantic streak, might I ask?" Lois asked, blinking back fresh tears.
"Do I need a reason?" Clark asked, smiling.
"Help me get this on?" Lois asked, holding out her wrist.
Clark fastened the clasp of the bracelet and Lois drew her arm back, still looking at it.
"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," she told him, at last. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"I'm in love," Clark said, as if that explained it all.
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX
Tess had just settled into her bed at her high-rise Metropolis apartment with a book and a glass of Chardonnay when her bedroom door blew open, showering the room with a hail of sharp, wooden shards. She shielded her face with her arms, wincing as the shards dug into her exposed skin, drawing blood. When the debris settled down, she cautiously lowered her arms, blinking in the harsh light that filled the room as her attackers entered.
Fear had her heart hammering wildly in her chest, but it subsided when she saw Parasite, Plastique, and Livewire entering her bedroom.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, furiously. "This is my home."
"We just thought you'd like to know what we got out of Sullivan," Livewire told her, her tone pleasant.
"And you had to break down my door to do it?" Tess snapped. "Did you find where the book is?"
"No," Plastique told her, a strange smile on her face. "No, she didn't tell us anything about the book."
"Then why are you here?" Tess asked, rising to confront the trio. "Why aren't you out there looking for my book?"
"We had something more important to talk to you about," Parasite said.
"And what could be more important than the job I hired you for?" Tess demanded.
"This," Livewire said, holding out her hand.
Tess extended her own in response and Livewire tipped a small piece of charred metal into her palm. Tess went slightly pale at the sight of one of the micro explosives she'd had planted in the team's spinal columns.
"We got this out of Neutron," Parasite told her. "After you blew his brains out."
"Neutron got out of hand," Tess said, proud of how she kept her voice even and level. "He threatened me and I took defensive action."
"You murdered him," Plastique accused.
"I did what I had to do," Tess told her, edging backward and slowly opening the drawer of her bedside table, feeling for the small cylinder she knew was there. Closing her fingers over the slim detonator, she put her thumb over the button and pressed down. Then, she blinked in shock when nothing happened.
"Did your little toy break?" Livewire asked, nastily.
"What did you do?" Tess demanded.
"We disabled your bombs," Parasite told her. "You can't control us anymore, Mercer."
The trio had been advancing on her the entire time they'd been talking, and Tess found herself pinned against the wall with no way to escape. Livewire raised a hand toward her, a crackling ball of energy held in her hand, and Tess willed herself not to flinch. She was not going to let herself be intimidated by a bunch of out-of-control meteor freaks.
"Mercer," Livewire said, moving the energy closer to her face and Tess betrayed herself by cringing backward. "We quit."
There was a flare of bright light as the energy in Livewire's hand increased, and Tess squeezed her eyes shut, waiting fearfully for the pain to come. Then the light that had been bright enough to pierce her closed eyelids faded, and when she opened her eyes, she was alone in the room. Her legs shaking, she slid slowly down the wall, staring unblinking at the wall.
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX
"What do we do now?" Plastique asked, as they were walking down the street away from Mercer's apartment building.
"We track down the rest of the gang from Black Creek," Livewire told her. "And then we go into business for ourselves."
"What about Superman?" Parasite asked. "He came after us today when we kidnapped Sullivan. He's going to do it again."
"Leave Superman to me," a new voice spoke up, and the trio turned to see a lithe, Asian woman in a black bodysuit stepping out of the shadows.
"This is a private conversation," Livewire told the woman, coldly.
"I couldn't help overhearing you just now," the woman told her. "And in that apartment with Tess Mercer."
"You've got good hearing," Plastique said. "You some kind of meteor freak?"
"Something like that," the woman said.
"I know you," Parasite said, suddenly. "You're Lana Luthor. You married Lex Luthor."
"Your husband put us in Black Creek," Livewire said, catching on.
"Ex-husband," Lana told them. "Lex and I have been enemies for a while now."
"So, what do you want?" Plastique asked, brusquely.
"The same thing you want," Lana said. "Revenge on Lex for everything he did to me."
"You said that you could handle Superman?" Livewire prompted.
"Let's just say that I'm the one person he can't touch," Lana said, with a mysterious smile. "After I'm through with him, Superman will never be a problem to any of us ever again."
"Welcome to the club," Livewire told her, holding out a hand that the other woman shook.
"What do we call you?" Parasite asked, and the other woman turned to face him, streaks of iridescent green shimmering on the surface of her black suit.
"Call me Kryptonite."